Charity champions Daniel Vines and Simon Bradbury will be swapping landlocked Nottinghamshire for the chilly, choppy English Channel later this month when they take the plunge to help disadvantaged children.
Daniel, 34 of Radcliffe Road,West Bridgeford, and Simon 28, of Roe Gardens, Ruddington are part of a seven-strong team from express delivery giants, TNT, attempting an audacious 23-mile swim across the Channel to raise £30,000 for the children's charity, Wooden Spoon.
As General Manager of the company's Nottingham depot at The Meadows, Riverside Park, Daniel, and Senior Contract Manager, Simon are part of the 'TNT shore-to-shore we can Challenge' where the six man and one wo
man relay team will bid to get across the Channel in approximately 20-hours or less.
TNT has already raised more than £2.5 million for the Wooden Spoon over the past 12 years with the funds going to help tens of thousands of children who are disadvantaged mentally, physically or socially.
The big-hearted duo have been training regularly in local swimming pools, a lake and the North Sea and are due to swim the Channel between August 22-24 depending on the tidal flows and weather conditions.
It represents the biggest challenge of both of their lives so why do they want to chance one of the most hazardous stretches of water in the world, complete with busy shipping lanes, jellyfish, pollution and debris?
Daniel said: "If, by swimming the Channel, I can generate money to help make a difference in the lives of disabled and disadvantaged kids it will all have been worthwhile. This represents a monumental personal challenge but I like pushing myself to the limit."
Having raised £2,000 for the Wooden Spoon after completing the London Marathon last year, Daniel wanted to take on bigger than the 26.2 mile run - and a Channel swim fitted the bill!
Simon is similarly motivated, and has been undertaking endless hours of gym work combined with his swimming.
"At the start of the year I decided I wanted to do something positive for the Wooden Spoon and, when I heard about the 'shore-to-shore we can' challenge it was the obvious thing to do.
"The training is tough but I've adopted a healthy diet to ensure I am in the best possible shape to succeed. This is a massive personal challenge and we're all driven by the fear of failure and not wanting to let the Wooden Spoon children down," said Simon.
Daniel added: "All the sacrifices and long hours spent preparing will be worth it when we hit the beach near Calais and know that we've conquered the Channel."
If anyone wants to support Daniel and Simon in their bid to raise funds for the Wooden Spoon they can log on at www.justgiving.com/shoretoshore and monitor the team's progress by reading their blog updates.
Daniel and Simon's cash splash for children's charity
posted: Tuesday, 10 August 201010th August 2010