Twimmers Raise over 1k for Marie Curie

Heather took part in last weeks Swimathon Challenge and Team Twimmers managed to raise £1100 - well done.

The press release was featured in many of the local newspapers....here's a copy if you missed it:

TWITTER HELPS TEAM MAKE A SPLASH

L-R Heather Baxter, Derek Curtis, Lisa Forster, Mark Easby, Marianne Whitfield

FIVE local business owners are making a splash for charity by participating in a Swimathon after meeting through social networking site Twitter.

The team, which consists of Heather Baxter of GENI, Derek Curtis of Bond Solutions, Mark Easby of Better Brand Agency, Lisa Forster of Angelfysh and Marianne Whitfield of Cobweb, will be swimming 5,000 metres on April 16 to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The group, whose businesses are all based in the North East, met on Twitter and decided to take part in the Swimathon. The swim, at Sunderland Aquatic Centre, will take approximately three hours to complete and the team, aptly named the Twimmers, is hoping to raise over £1000 for the charity.

Derek Curtis said: “We all use Twitter for business purposes and we had been talking for a while previous to agreeing to do the Swimathon. We were all discussing getting fit and when the idea of participating in the event was mentioned we all jumped at the chance.

“It just shows how social media is bringing businesses together and can provide a great platform for businesses to network with others in the region. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and of course raising money for this great cause.”

Twitter is now one of the UK’s leading social networking sites with over 58 million members. It is a microblogging site where users can interact and post ‘tweets’ of up to 140 characters.

Heather added: “It’s amazing how many contacts I have made since joining Twitter last year. Some of The Twimmers hadn’t even met previous to the Swimathon. Coming together to raise money for such an amazing charity just shows the power of Social Media. Although the Swimathon will be a challenge, I am excited to take part and hope we will exceed our fundraising target.”