The Fitwise charity for 2024/25 was River Kids. Each year at Fitwise we choose a charity and host fundraising activities throughout the year to support them.
River Kids is a charity based in West Lothian, not far from our office, who are focused on benefiting disadvantaged local children and children’s groups. By supporting River Kids, we have had lots of opportunities to play our part in helping disadvantaged children in the local area.
Key Activities for River Kids
River Kids accept used toys and secondhand furniture throughout the year, which helps those in need as well as raising money for the West Lothian Toy Appeal. Over the last year the team have been donating secondhand items and fulfilling calls for furniture where possible.
In July 2024, we hosted our Thank You Day, which allowed our colleagues to write a note of appreciation to another team member and spread thanks among the office. Alongside this we hosted a bake sale with all takings going to River Kids.
August 2024 saw some of the team head out on a sponsored walk climbing Tinto, a hill in the central lowlands of Scotland. The climb was no mean feat, and the unexpected Scottish sunshine came out to make for an enjoyable day. Those that took part raised money for River Kids.
In September, Sophie from our marketing team and Janah from the events team attended the River Kids Children’s Charity Ball, a great event raising money for those in the local community.
River Kids run the West Lothian Toy Appeal annually, collecting toys for children of all ages in the local area, who would otherwise go without at Christmas time. At Fitwise, we ran a collection for the toy appeal, where the team could bring in toys to donate or order directly through the River Kids wish list. Not only did the team donate, but those that were able to in November visited the warehouse and helped purchase much-needed items to be added to the toy appeal which would be delivered in time for Christmas to over 3,000 local children.
Our festive fundraising didn’t stop there, as we hosted our annual Christmas jumper day with those wearing jumpers donating to River Kids.
In March 2025, we hosted a Fitwise Pub Quiz for the team over lunch with those taking part, donating to enter. The team had a lot of fun and quiz master Sophie led the way with some tricky questions making it a race between first and second place.
At Easter this year, we hosted an easter egg hunt, as well as a guess how many mini eggs are in the jar competition and a raffle for a giant Lindt egg. The whole office got involved collecting eggs and donating to River Kids.
Overall, it’s been a very fun year for the fitwise team, all while donating to a worthy local charity. We raised a total of £699.84 throughout the year.
