BBC Radio WM Staff Raise Over £100,000 Through Swimming Challenge

Staff members at BBC Radio WM have contributed to raising more than £100,000 through a 24-hour swimming challenge benefiting Children in Need. The five-person team completed a 24-mile swim over 24 hours, starting Thursday morning, at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, a venue utilized for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. This initiative was part of a broader objective for all BBC local radio stations across the UK, each aiming to swim 24 miles to collectively reach a 1,000-mile total. Sarah Julian, a breakfast show presenter and one of the swimmers on “Team Wet Midlands,” extended her thanks to listeners for their donations and acknowledged that the team was “flagging a little bit” later in the challenge. She stated: “Thank you so much for your donations and perhaps your well wishes and messages even more so.”They kept us going, particularly…. the back end of the day on Thursday.” The challenge commenced at 09:00 GMT, with the team consisting of fellow BBC Radio WM presenters Trish Adudu and Kath Stanczyszyn, BBC Midlands Today sports presenter Dan Pallett, and radio producer Matt Mitchell. Their collective efforts contributed to the overall sum gathered by the local radio stations. Adudu shared: “My beloved mum died suddenly last year from cancer and before she left us she said to me, ‘Trish, don’t panic about anything, always just go for it, enjoy life’. And that’s what’s got me through.” Stanczyszyn revealed that she had previously experienced “a really bad bout of mental illness,” adding: “I didn’t know what to do with myself to feel better.” She continued: “But I started swimming regularly and it helped me no end and doing this has really brought that back.” For updates, BBC Birmingham can be followed on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.