KIND-HEARTED Solihull accountants rowed the distance from Birmingham to Venice in 24 hours for charity.
The 78-strong team from Prime Accountants Group took turns on rowing machines – alongside the help of clients, family and friends – to cover the 798-mile distance between the two canal cities at Touchwood.
They raised £14,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity to help pay for a new iMRI machine for the children’s hospital’s operating theatre, which will enable surgeons to see live MRI scan images during procedures.
Leigh Dudley, director at Prime Accountants, said: “It was a long 24 hours for those involved in the row, but we’re so proud of everyone’s commitment and hard work.
“The atmosphere was brilliant, with so many people volunteering to row and supporters cheering us on, offering great encouragement.
“We always try and go the extra mile to raise money for local charities, so this time we did that literally – covering nearly 800 miles is an incredible achievement.”
The epic row is the first of five charity initiatives which the Prime team plan to complete over the next 12 months, with each raising money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.
Katie Harris, corporate partnerships officer from the charity, said: “We are always blown away by the Prime team’s commitment to fundraising – they are always keen to take on crazy challenges to help us in our efforts to provide the vital care our patients need.
“This year’s fundraising activity will go directly towards a new iMRI machine for our operating theatre. Our hospital is home to one of the largest paediatric neurosurgical centres in the UK, but we are the only one without state-of-the-art intraoperative MRI (iMRI) technology.
“The efforts of the Prime team will play a big role in our fundraising activities for this vital piece of equipment.”
