#TeamDSUK 10K for £10K campaign
This summer we were delighted to help our clients Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK) launch their new #TeamDSUK 10K for £10k campaign, encouraging people to get active and raise money during the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, in a bid to raise £10,000 to support grassroots adaptive snowsports in the UK.
The #TeamDSUK 10k for £10k initiative, tasked individuals and groups to set their own 10,000m goal to be completed between 26th July and 8th September, with all monies raised from activities going directly to helping more disabled children and adults in Britain experience the benefits of adaptive skiing and snowboarding.
Holmlands helped to craft the campaign narrative and secure targeted media coverage to raise awareness of the new initiative, encouraging people to sign up, take part and donate.
We also helped to identify and develop stories to support the campaign, including the stories of DSUK members Annabel Kiki and Ellie Henry - conducting film and photoshoots at their local indoor ski centres in Tamworth and Manchester respectively - with more on their stories below...
Annabel Kiki, 16 from Cannock, is an adaptive skier, model and striker for the England Amputee Football Association women’s team. She was diagnosed with a bone tumour in her left leg age 13 years old explaining, “Skiing was my biggest passion growing up. I love the thrill, freedom and fun of being out in the mountains.
“In 2022, one of the worst things in the world happened to me. I started the year with two legs and ended it with one. Losing a leg was very traumatic, but today I live by the motto “It's not what happens to me, it's what I choose to become”.
“I can’t control what’s happened, I can only control my reaction to it and by practising skiing again, I’ve learned to do every single other sport and it’s pushed me to be better than I was before. It’s helped me achieve so much more in my everyday life – like helping with my balance and being able to walk better on my prosthetic, along with surfing and football. It’s with thanks to DSUK I’ve got my confidence back.”
Annabel said, “I don’t like to think of myself as disabled, I like to think of myself as enhanced. I still wanted to achieve my dreams I had before my amputation, even though they’re adapted now, just like me.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t relearn to ski. It’s always been such a big part of my life. Being part of the #TeamDSUK 10k for £10k campaign and helping people like me get back on their feet is a great feeling, and it would be amazing to give the opportunities DSUK have given me to other people.”
CEO or DSUK, Virginia Anderson said, “Annabel is a terrific example of the people this campaign is designed to support. Some people are born with disabilities – but any one of us could have our lives changed in an instant through injury or illness."
Watch Annabel's story below:
As part of our PR support for the campaign, coverage was secured across the broadcast, print and online media, including; BBC News Online, BBC Radio WM, BBC Radio Stoke, Fall Line Skiing Magazine, Skier & Snowboarder Magazine, Planet Ski, In The Snow Magazine, Staffordshire Living Magazine, News & Star, The Westmorland Gazette, The North West Evening Mail, That's Cumbria TV and more ... with a news segment with BBC Midlands Today detailing Annabel's story below:
Actor Ellie Henry, 23, best known for her role-playing Freya Calder in long running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome at 15 -years-old, leading her to become an ambulatory wheelchair user.
Encouraging people to take on a 10,000m sporting challenge and raise money to join #TeamDSUK, Ellie explains “I grew up being very sporty, daring and never stopped moving. I had dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast and then one day I suffered an injury taking a dance class when I was 15 years old. It was only when I received treatment that I learned I had a rare inherited connective tissue disorder, which meant my life was about to change forever.”
Ellie, whose character in Hollyoaks was left with life-changing injuries in a minibus crash, says “Disability forced me to live a life sitting down and initially I couldn’t find a single positive. It’s only now, eight years later, that I’ve started to find myself again.
“Sit skiing has been a massive deal for me; finding adrenaline and adventure in a way I didn’t think I’d be able to has really unlocked something in my mind. Throwing myself down a slope and hoping for the best is my new form of therapy. I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie but didn’t think skiing would be accessible for me. When I discovered it was possible, I haven’t looked back! I’m still at the early stages of my skiing journey but it’s already become a huge passion in my life and helps with my confidence on and off the slopes.”
Ellie continued, “Skiing has already given so much back to me and I’m only just getting started. I know DSUK are a small, niche charity and need all the support they can get, so I’m delighted to help them shine a spotlight on adaptive snowsport through my story and back their new #TeamDSUK 10k for £10k campaign."
Watch Ellie's story below:
Interviewing fundraisers as they signed up to participate, we also helped to share their stories on social media as the campaign unfolded; with people taking on a variety of 10k + challenges including skiing, running, swimming and more...
One such fundraiser was Edinburgh based Snowboard Coach Alastair Naysmyth, who decided to hike 120km along the Cumbrian Way to raise funds for the campaign.
We were on hand with our camera to greet him at the finish line in Carlisle as he completed the challenge after five days, raising over £1,000 for DSUK in the process.
Overall 14 fundraisers generated £10,467.55 throughout the course of the challenge, going a long way to helping the charity make snowsports more accessible to everyone.
To learn more about Disability Snowsport UK or to make a donation to support their valuable work, click here.
