EDF Energy's Molly Board during her 'Channel' swim in Exeter
An Exeter woman has swum the distance between Dover and Calais in her local swimming pool and raised more than £950 for charity.
Molly Board, an account administrator at EDF Energy, completed the 22.5-mile swim on January 20 at Riverside Leisure Centre in Exeter.
The 23-year-old, who lives in Harrington Lane, Pinhoe, swam 1,440 lengths of the leisure centre’s 25 metre pool in 14 hours and four minutes.
Sponsorship from friends, family and colleagues helped Molly raise money for EDF Energy’s charity partner the British Paralympic Association (BPA), and she is well on her way to reach her target of £1,500. The BPA is the charity responsible for sending the best prepared ParalympicsGB team to every summer and winter Paralympic Games.
Molly said: “Swimming in the English Channel between Dover and Calais has been a dream of mine for years, but with such a long waiting list and the swim being dependant on factors such as the tide and current, I thought that completing the distance in a swimming pool would be the next best thing.
“I’ve always really enjoyed swimming but carrying out such a mammoth challenge was a lot more difficult than I thought. I was aiming to complete the swim within 12 hours, however this time came and went, which was a little disheartening but my younger brother joined me with 250 lengths to go, and then my dad got in for the last 40 which got me through it.
“I want to say a massive thank you to Riverside Leisure Centre for donating the swimming pool lane for the day, and especially to the lifeguards on duty as they checked on me after I’d completed every one hundred lengths. I would also like to thank the Ironbridge Runner store in Exeter for donating nutrition to me for the day.”
Colin Fisher, Molly’s team manager at EDF Energy, said: “We’re all really proud of Molly here at EDF Energy and she’s raised a fantastic amount of money to support ParalympicsGB.
“As the company’s charity partner we have worked closely with the BPA over the past two years, and know that the money raised will go to a great cause – ensuring that the biggest, best prepared team of athletes can compete this year at the home Games.”
Since EDF Energy’s partnership with the BPA began in 2010, the company’s employees have raised £150,000 for the charity through their own fundraising. In addition to this, EDF Energy has given £300,000 to support the BPA with the Green Team project, aiming to make ParalympicsGB as sustainable as possible through their preparations camps, and in its mission to use the power of London 2012 to deliver lasting change in Paralympic sport in the UK from grass roots to elite level.
To donate money to the BPA and support Molly in her fundraising activities visit: http://www.justgiving.com/Molly-Board.
ENDS
For further information please contact Charlotte Mitchell in the EDF Energy press office on 01392 813716.
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Notes to Editors
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is one of the UK’s largest energy companies and the largest producer of low-carbon electricity, producing around one-sixth of the nation's electricity from its nuclear power stations, wind farms, coal and gas power stations and combined heat and power plants. The company supplies gas and electricity to more than 5.5 million business and residential customer accounts and is the biggest supplier of electricity by volume in Great Britain.
EDF Energy’s safe and secure operation of its eight existing nuclear power stations at sites across the country makes it the UK’s largest generator of low carbon electricity. EDF Energy is also leading the UK's nuclear renaissance and has published plans to build four new nuclear plants, subject to the right investment framework. These new plants could generate enough low carbon electricity for about 40% of Britain’s homes. They would make an important contribution to the UK’s future needs for clean, secure and affordable energy. The project is already creating business and job opportunities for British companies and workers.
Through Our Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has launched one of the biggest environmental and social programmes of any British energy company and the company has since been awarded the highest ranking of Platinum Plus in Business in the Community’s 2011 Corporate Responsibility Index, the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility.
EDF is the official electricity supplier and a sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company is also helping its customers and others use energy more sustainably through products and initiatives such as Team Green Britain, smart meters and electric vehicle research.
EDF Energy is part of EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest power companies. The company employs around 15,000 people at locations across the UK.
For more news from EDF Energy please see www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/. To find out more about the UK's energy challenges look at www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/
British Paralympic Association
The BPA is the organisation responsible for sending the best prepared ParalympicsGB team to every summer and winter Paralympic Games. We work closely with all 20 summer and 4 winter sports to achieve this. Only the very best athletes from our sports are selected to represent ParalympicsGB at a Paralympic Games.
We are proud of our tradition of outstanding performance at the Paralympic Games: Britain has finished second in the medals table at the last three summer Paralympic Games and brought home from Beijing 102 medals, 42 of them gold.
With the next summer Games on home soil, the BPA are exploring every possible option that might have a positive impact on the performance of British athletes in 2012 enabling them to achieve their personal best when it matters most.
We recognise that the performance of ParalympicsGB will have an impact on changing perceptions of disability sport and influencing attitudes towards disability.