Tearfund’s 21 for 21 Challenge gives participants a new workout every day for 21 days. Signing up and getting sponsored means exercisers will also help beat poverty around the world while they get fit at home, linking them to people like Jessy from Malawi, a grandmother whose family regularly suffers from hunger.
‘Doing this challenge is a great way to remind myself that I’m essentially still connected to Jessy and others who live far away, despite lockdowns,’ says Liz Earle MBE, Wellbeing Brand Founder and Tearfund ambassador. ‘Their struggles are different to my struggles but 21 for 21 gives me a way to show I care, as well as benefiting my own physical health.’
‘Jessy and her family work hard to grow maize, but crop after crop fails due to flooding from the nearby river and changing weather patterns,’ adds Liz. ‘Jessy’s family can go many months without enough food, and Jessy herself has, at times, been so hungry that she has collapsed.’
‘Funds raised by the challenge will help Tearfund’s work to make sure families like Jessy’s can provide for themselves, even in challenging circumstances,’ says Jane Pleace, Tearfund’s Global Fundraising Director. ‘But,’ she adds, ‘we also really want our supporters to enjoy themselves and feel a sense of achievement through staying fit.’
Tearfund’s local church partners around the world are working alongside communities like Jessy’s, helping them to farm in ways that are more resilient to challenging weather patterns. For example they are training farmers to make and use organic fertiliser, to plant crops that can withstand difficult weather conditions and to plant trees along river banks to help prevent flooding.
Musical theatre star Rachelle Ann Go-Spies, known for her roles in London’s West End’s Hamilton and Miss Saigon will also be helping to promote the 21 for 21 Challenge.
To find out more about Tearfund’s 21 for 21 Challenge, visit tearfund.org/21
Ends
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Louise Thomas, media officer, on 07428 232161 or out of hours on 07929 339813
Notes for editors
About Tearfund’s 21 for 21 Challenge
- Tearfund’s 21 for 21 Challenge provides different exercises suitable for different fitness levels
- There are 21 different exercises to achieve over 21 days
- Participants can sign up to join one of 3 levels - beginner intermediate, advanced (they will generally stick within one level), and get sponsored to raise money for international development charity Tearfund.
- There’s a video tutorial available for each exercise, demonstrating the exercise.
- Participants are encouraged to set up a JustGiving page, share details through their social media using the hashtag #21for21.
- All the exercises can be done indoors, so they will be unaffected by lockdown, and no equipment is needed.
- Tearfund is not encouraging people to get together physically to exercise unless they live in the same household or are otherwise complying with Covid restrictions for their area.
- The challenge is designed for all levels of fitness, so anyone healthy can take part. If anyone has concerns about their health, or has a medical condition that could be affected, including coronavirus symptoms, they should not take part in this challenge.
- Every £21 donated could empower 16 families like Jessy’s to free themselves from hunger through training in new farming skills.
- Tearfund ambassador and Wellbeing Brand Founder Liz Earle MBE is an authority in the world of natural nutrition and wellbeing, and particularly concerned with food provenance, sustainability, women's health and healthy eating during midlife.@lizearleme
- Rachelle Ann Go-Spies is a musical theatre star (Hamilton; Miss Saigon) of Filipino heritage @gorachelleann
About Tearfund
Tearfund is a Christian charity mobilising communities and churches worldwide to help end extreme poverty and injustice.
www.tearfund.org
