A keen (but slow!) triathlete, Fiona has taken part in sport throughout her life and knows the benefit, both physically and mentally, of being active. She is keen that exercise, in whatever form it takes, should be open to all, regardless of their financial situation. It is essential for people’s wellbeing.

With two teenagers, Fiona sees first hand the financial cost of trying to kit children out with sports gear they quickly grow out of. Clearing out their wardrobes over lockdown, she saw just how many pairs of sports shoes they were going through in a season. And not because they were wearing them out, but they were growing out of them. Realising there must be thousands of families with a similar pile of sports shoes, she thought if she could start collecting the shoes, then they could be passed on to families who were struggling financially.

Fiona has been delighted with the support the community has given to One Impossible Thing. She said, “the local community have made my vision of helping out those who were struggling, in to a reality, with their kindness and generosity.“

Fiona has worked in the charity sector for over 10 years, both in the UK and in Australia. She worked in fundraising, organising both large and small scale events.

Fiona on Linked In

Ray sees sport as something that helped him both physically and mentally through the ups and downs that life inevitably threw his way. It's why he was keen for both of his children to be involved in sport. And it’s why he is keen to be involved in a charity that enables anyone and everyone to be active.

It was because of Ray’s children that he is now a black belt in taekwondo. He started lessons to encourage them to take part. They were eight and ten at the time. Ray was the oldest in the class, even older than the teacher. But now, having achieved his black belt, it means he can help out with his son’s classes and encourage more young people to be involved in the martial art.

Sport has been a constant throughout Ray’s life, whether it’s been taekwondo, rugby, basketball, squash, cycling or even darts! His first passion was rugby, which he started as an U16 at Welwyn Rugby Club. He went on to play for them for almost 30 years. He finds rugby the most inclusive sport he has ever played. Whatever size you are, whatever age you are, whether you are fast or slow, there is a position for you on the rugby team. At one point, his rugby team consisted of a 14 year old, a 73 year old, and all ages in between!

Ray was an entrepreneur who ran a successful IT company for seven years. He worked predominantly within the charity sector, so he understands the way charities operate. He is now retired and enjoys playing golf and spending time with his children.

Ray on Linked In

Nickie was one of the first people we worked with when One Impossible Thing started. As a single mum with two boys playing club football, we helped her out with football boots for her sons. Having lost her job during Covid, she understands the predicament families increasingly find themselves in. Children who are constantly growing and needing new sports shoes for their activities, at a time when the family budget is tightening and the cost of living is increasing.

Nickie has previously been a trustee at The Youth Booth, a charity that One Impossible Thing has worked with. They ran a variety of free classes and courses for young people and supplied free breakfasts for students before school. We supplied them with sports shoes for their free multi activity clubs. As well as being a trustee, Nickie volunteered for them, delivering free packed lunches during Covid and running cookery classes for their young people.

Although Nickie doesn’t play sport, she realised she needed to be more active when she went with her sons to the London Planetarium at Greenwich and struggled to walk up the hill at Greenwich Park. (To be fair, who doesn’t get out of puff walking up that hill!) She joined the local gym with a friend so they could encourage each other to get fit.

Nickie would like to have more time to be active, but she now works full time in primary care as a Medical Secretary and enjoys supporting her sons in all their sporting activities.

After turning 40, Lucia was trying to encourage her children to live a healthy lifestyle, but realised she needed to lead by example! So she started walking more. Walking turned in to running, just short distances, but a little bit further each time, until she completed her own Couch-2-5K. 

After getting the Park Run bug and running 5km every Saturday morning at 9am, in different towns, cities and countries, she committed to run a half marathon (that’s 13 miles!), every Sunday, for 13 weeks.

Over 180 Park Runs, 40 half marathon, 6 marathons and many, many miles later, Lucia continues to run as often as she can on behalf of wonderful charities, encouraging others to support her in whatever small way they can. 

Lucia is a big fan of One Impossible Thing. It started with donations for a number of her and her family’s sports shoes, to encouraging others to get involved, and now, by becoming a trustee, she hopes to continue raising awareness and promoting the charity.

Her role as an IT Operational Excellence Manager at Computacenter, affords her the ability to plan charity events and organise fundraisers at work. Lucia’s aim is to have a One Impossible Thing collection bin proudly on display in the atrium of their Hatfield office as her next challenge! 

Lucia on Linked In

Rebecca loves running. She has run a number of marathons including London, Chicago, New York and Stockholm, but to her it’s not about the time. To her it’s about the challenge, a target to aim for and the overwhelming achievement at the end. Appropriately, her love of running has drawn her to Park Run. She has run over 300 of them in various corners of the country, but you can normally find her at the Dunstable Downs event in her volunteer role as the Run Director.

Rebecca has worked as the Director of Operations at Active Luton and as the Managing Director of Dacorum Sports Trust (DST). DST run the XC Centre, Little Hay Golf Complex and Our Gym. She worked there for over 30 years. She started as a teenager in an admin post and ended up running the show!

The thing that really drives Rebecca is how to get as many different people as possible, from all walks of life, more active. The way her and her team did this at DST was by appealing to the things people enjoy, not by forcing everyone to the gym. The XC Centre is a great example of this. By bringing together a skatepark, caves and a climbing wall, Rebecca and her team have encouraged a younger crowd who probably don't think of themselves as sporty in the traditional school team sport way, to get active.

Rebecca sees the amount of sports shoes that people donate through our recycling bins based at Active Luton. She is constantly amazed by the generosity of the local community. As a trustee of One Impossible Thing, she has also seen the impact the charity has made in such a short space of time. How it has helped many children and adults already. As Rebecca says, “being able to play a small part in this charity that makes such a huge difference in the community, fits in with my desire to break down barriers in sporting participation for both children and adults”. 

Rebecca on Linked In

Paula has always been active. She doesn’t let a day pass without a run, a cycle ride or a three mile walk! This is probably why, over the years, she has participated in the London to Brighton Cycle Ride three times and the annual Berkhamsted Walk, raising money for The Children’s Society.

When Paula was younger she enjoyed playing badminton, tennis and hockey. She even did a 24 hour tennis marathon for charity! For Paula, playing a team sport or just exercising by herself, is vital to staying healthy. That’s why she says, “I’m really happy to be helping One Impossible Thing achieve their purpose and mission, enabling more people to benefit from being active.”

She has passed her love of sports down to her three children. Her twins play netball for both the school and a club, and her eldest is a keen swimmer. Paula has spent many a night cheering her on at various swimming galas!

Paula has previously been a trustee of Dacorum Sports Trust (DST). They helped Dacorum residents stay active through all of their sports venues - sports centres, swimming pools, climbing facilities and golf courses. Born and bred in Dacorum, Paula learnt to swim in the local pools, so being involved with DST was her way of giving back to the community that had helped her on her sporting journey. As a member of their board, she supported the leadership through tough times with contract changes, Covid and ensuring the future of the facilities and employees.

With a career that has spanned supplier management, product management and marketing, and her previous experience as a charity trustee, Paula is looking to bring this together for the benefit of One Impossible Thing.

Paula on Linked In