A team of colleagues from healthcare software organisation Agilio are determined to raise £10,000 in aid of Ripple Suicide Prevention charity.
The health tech company which supplies solutions for dental, veterinary, pharmacy and primary care settings is set to take on the Thames Path Ultra Challenge supplying a team of around 20 colleagues including several members of the company's executive team in support of Ripple Suicide Prevention. Following on from their successful completion of the Peak District and North Yorkshire ultras, the team are determined to hit their goal of raising a total of £10,000 for the charity.
As part of Agilio's Central People Team, Nikki Berryman has been instrumental in bringing Agilio's wellbeing strategy to life, leading the implementation of a range of initiatives designed to support colleague wellbeing and fostering greater awareness of the support and resources available across the organisation. With around 330 employees and more than three quarters of the workforce working remotely, recognising when someone may need support is not always straightforward. Creating opportunities for connection, listening to colleagues and making support easy to access are therefore central to Agilio's approach to wellbeing.
To support their commitment to employee wellbeing, the company deployed the charity's innovative tool, the Ripple BrowserShield, a lifesaving piece of technology which intercepts harmful content related to suicide and self-harm online and redirects to immediate support at the point of search.
Nikki Berryman said:
"We are huge advocates of flexible working and work-life balance, however a lot of our colleagues are solely working from home, it can sometimes be difficult to pick up on the shifts in behaviour and notice when someone's mental health has started to decline, so having a tool in place that offers protection in the worst case scenario gives us a lot of peace of mind as we know that the Ripple BrowserShield will kick in if someone is looking for ways to harm themselves."
The Ripple tool is available for businesses like Agilio via Ripple for Business while the charity works to provide the safeguarding technology to schools and families around the world free of charge. Through their fundraising efforts, Nikki and her colleagues will be funding the deployment of the tool to protect more young and vulnerable people and their families who find themselves in crisis.
The Thames Path Ultra Challenge is one of the largest events of its kind in the UK, drawing around 3,000 participants following the river through London. With distances ranging from 25km to 50km, the Agilio team will set off in the early morning and are likely to expect a late finish. However, it's in these long stretches of physical activity that Agilio has seen strong bonds develop, that often tackle difficult topics of mental health.
Nikki added:
"When you're walking together for six, eight, ten hours, that's when you really start getting to know people. There's always a story behind why somebody is there and after the first couple of hours, we can get into some very deep and personal topics. Once we are taken out of the office environment and into a more social and collaborative space, we start to share our own experiences. That's why I think these challenges are just as much supporting our mental wellbeing as well as being physically challenging."
For the charity, having organisations like Agilio raising funds is vital for ensuring that the technology can be deployed to an even greater number of schools and charities while also helping to further develop the technology to ensure that all harmful searches online are intercepted and redirected to essential support.
Alice Hendy MBE, Founder and CEO of Ripple Suicide Prevention Charity said:
"The team at Agilio has already endured physical hardship to raise money for the charity, and their continued determination is a testament to their mental fortitude and dedication to supporting those who find themselves in crisis. Through our technology, we have intercepted over 100,000 harmful searches and are currently providing protection to over 1.9m people worldwide. Agilio are helping us to ensure that more people are given direct support at the point of search which will result in more lives saved and reduce the instances of suicide and self-harm. We wish everyone the best of luck in the challenge and look forward to seeing their smiling faces at the finish line."
With just a month to go before the team face their challenge in September, they are more determined than ever to hit their goal of £10,000.
To support Agilio's efforts visit - Team Agilio fundraising for Ripple is fundraising for Ripple