Luke's fundraiser for Restless Development
At Virtual1, giving back to the community is important to us and is why we offer two charity days to all of our employees each year! Whether they wish to volunteer their time at a local charity shop or spend a day running a marathon to raise funds, we will support them by giving paid days away from the office to give something back. One of our team, Luke Kriskinans, is a devoted fundraiser and supporter of our Charity Partner Restless Development.
At Virtual1, giving back to the community is important to us and is why we offer two charity days to all of our employees each year!
Whether they wish to volunteer their time at a local charity shop or spend a day running a marathon to raise funds, we will support them by giving paid days away from the office to give something back.
One of our team, Luke Kriskinans, is a devoted fundraiser and supporter of our Charity Partner Restless Development.
Restless Development are a non profit global agency that supports the collective power of young leaders to create a better world. Formed in 1985, Restless Development train, mentor, nurture and connect thousands of young people to use their youth power and lead change.
Luke has shared how he uses his Charity days and what motivates him to take part.
How are you spending your two charity days this year?
“I am planning on getting involved in as many volunteering opportunities as possible. I volunteered earlier in the year at Restless Development’s “Ain't No Mountain High Enough Gala Dinner” to help support a team who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. After deciding to sign up for the Ultra-Marathon in Sri Lanka, I thought it was a great opportunity to raise as much as possible whilst they have their “Power-up Appeal” going on.
Restless Development have their School Triathlon’s coming up in May so I have also put my name down for 2 days to help support them.
Finally, we have an exciting calendar for the rest of the year, with covering the distance from our London office to our office in Skopje challenge, as well as our Charity quiz.”
What made you choose to fundraise for Restless Development?
“It started whilst my sister was travelling in South America, she volunteered in Ecuador helping local communities and after speaking to her I realized I should be doing a lot more.
Having a great charity aligned with Virtual1 helps, and I started to spend time with the team at Restless. Seeing how passionate they are and the impact they have makes it an easy decision to help in any way I can.”
In addition to being able to fundraise for amazing charities, what motivates you to do the challenges?
“With running only starting as a lockdown hobby, I never thought I would be competing in challenges like Ultra Marathons, but I quickly found huge enjoyment pushing myself past both the physical and mental barriers.
It’s very cliché but doing these challenges you learn so much more about yourself and personally I have found I have massively improved as a person. Not only have my physical and mental health improved, but the way I handle myself in certain situations is a lot more positive.
The one thing that stood out to me for this specific challenge of an Ultra in the Sri-Lankan Jungle was that I have never been to a country like this.
It was incredible to go to a unique place where you step off the typical tourist routes and see so much of a country few people have the chance of seeing, as well as engage with the local communities who are so nice and are part of an incredible culture.
With all those factors, you realise you have been part of and achieved something amazing and it has given me the bug to carry on pushing myself in whatever weird & wonderful challenges I find.”
