A housing group has celebrated its success of completing a ‘21 day around the world’ challenge, which raised £4200 for women’s rights charity Womankind Worldwide.
SO Resi is a shared ownership brand of the Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing Association and is behind a number of new developments across the capital including Ealing, Clapham Park and Greenford.
More than 380 members of the SO Resi team collectively walked, ran and cycled a distance of 55,376 km, surpassing their original target of 40,075 km throughout the 21 days.
Womankind Worldwide, founded in 1989, is a charity supporting secure equal rights for women and girls around the world.
Diana Alam, head of sales at SO Resi, said: “Womankind Worldwide is a charity close to our hearts.
“We work to improve the lives of women and girls across the globe and here in the UK.
“There has never been a more fitting time to challenge the daily inequalities that women face.
“We are blown away that we beat our original target of £3000, thanks to the efforts and support from our colleagues, friends and family.
“There is a lot more to be done to address the issues of diversity in the workplace.
“We hope that by opening this dialogue, it will encourage other companies to think about ways they can improve their own company diversity and to give equal opportunities.”
The charity’s goal is to end all violence against women, and to provide women with equal economic rights.
It hopes to ensure women have an equal influence in decision-making alongside the ability to exercise political power.
SO Resi launched its challenge on International Women’s Day on 8 March.
They selected Womankind Worldwide as their chosen charity, due to its partnerships with women’s movements globally.
They also launched their first podcast ‘Home Truths’ on International Women’s Day.
The episode discussed diversity in the workplace and what it means to be a women in housing.
Geeta Nanda, CEO at Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, shared her own personal experiences rising through the ranks as a women of colour on the podcast.
Disha Sughand, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Womankind Worldwide, expressed what the incredible fundraising efforts by SO Resi means to Womankind.
She said: “We are so thankful to SO Resi for their incredible fundraising efforts!
“Support like this is especially important now because the social and economic impacts of the pandemic have hit women and girls hardest.
“Women and girls are experiencing increased levels of violence and losing their jobs at a higher rate.
“The money raised will go a huge way to supporting women’s movements around the world and the women and girls they work with.”
