OnPath Energy team hits new heights in charity fundraising challenge

Colleagues at Sunderland-headquartered renewable energy developer OnPath Energy have scaled new heights to raise money for its two dedicated charities.

A ten-strong OnPath team took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, a 25-mile route starting and ending in the village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale and going via the summits of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.

Despite having to battle bad weather along the way and completing over 1,500m of climbing, the team finished the challenge in just over 11 hours.

The money raised through the challenge will be divided equally between the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen, the nominated charity at OnPath’s Sunderland headquarters, and Beatson Cancer Charity in Glasgow, the nominated charity for the developer’s Scottish office, which works to improve the experience, treatment and outcomes of cancer patients and their families.

The OnPath team adopted the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen as their English dedicated charity at the start of last year and has carried out a range of fundraising activities which have now brought in more than £6,000 in total.

Alongside their fundraising efforts, 11 OnPath Energy colleagues have spent time volunteering at the Soup Kitchen’s High Street West headquarters, serving meals and talking to service users about their lives and the positive impact that the charity has on the local community.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Andrea Bell, Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen provides freshly cooked hot meals to anyone in need, as well as wider support services, outreach work and direct community assistance.

It is open from 6-7pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with more than 60 local volunteers helping to deliver its services every week, and it also now delivers a growing range of educational and life skills courses through its TriBeCa Community Hub.

Eve Lewer, who was part of the OnPath Energy Yorkshire Three Peaks team, says: “We’ve learned and experienced a great deal about how the amazing Soup Kitchen team provides practical help and support to local people in real need, which gave us the motivation we needed when the going got tough.

We’re all thrilled with how much we’ve raised for these two fantastic charities and really grateful to everyone who has contributed to our fundraising efforts.”

Eve Lewer, OnPath Energy

For more information on the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen’s work, visit https://www.facebook.com/sunderlandcommunitysoupkitchen