Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Hull-based independent builders merchant MKM has raised over £7,000 for charity with employees shedding nearly one tonne of weight in the process.
MKM Building Supplies branches have completed the MKM Heart Challenge in aid of the British Heart Foundation’s annual fundraising campaign Red for Heart.
The eight-week event, which took place from 4th January to 26th February, saw each member of a team creating their own individual health goals, which included losing weight, reducing their blood pressure, stopping smoking and taking more exercise.
Key health measurements including body mass index, weight, blood pressure and hip to waist ratio were taken each week throughout the competition and branches competed for top position on the league table
David Kilburn, chief executive of MKM, also took part in the challenge. “This event has really captured the imagination. I got on board straight away and I’ve lost over a stone, which, incidentally, is more than Bill Acton, the managing director, who lost our bet in the process!
“We will hopefully be able to do this as an annual event , as we do take the health of our staff very seriously and it’s a good thing to encourage a healthier lifestyle.”
The overall winner was the MKM branch in Beverley, East Yorkshire, who improved the most over the eight weeks.
Andy Beet, director of the branch in Beverley, said: “The British Heart Foundation is a fantastic charity, which deserves our support. We thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the MKM challenge and competing with the other branches across the UK.
Several branch teams also organised fitness related events to raise additional sponsorship, whilst simultaneously improving their health. The Bridlington branch cycled 1000 miles and raised over £1000 for the British Heart Foundation, whilst the Redcar team walked 20 miles, from Whitby to Saltburn, raising over £1500 in the process.
Overall, across all the branches, MKM lost a staggering 879kg in weight and 561 inches around the waist.
