South Shields gym to host 24-hour challenge for a teenage girl with stage 4 cancer
Staff and members at Powerhouse Gym are set to take on a gruelling challenge for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Rhys Iles, owner of South Shields’ Powerhouse Gym, has arranged a mammoth 24-hour charity challenge for staff and members after his son’s girlfriend was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
The challenge will see those participating taking on a continuous row, bike and ski from 11am on Saturday, March 1, until 11am on Sunday, March 2, as they try to raise as much money as possible for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Amy, the girlfriend of Rhys’ son, who is also called Rhys, was diagnosed with stage 4 Ewing Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer, just two days after her 18th birthday.
The Teenage Cancer Trust have been supporting her as she faces treatment battle that includes both chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Rhys has explained to the Shields Gazette where the idea for the challenge came from and also discussed the impact that Amy’s diagnosis is having on his family.
He commented: “It started off with myself and a couple of customers wanting to do a challenge for ourselves but then I thought about the idea of raising some money at the same time.
“So I picked the Teenage Cancer Trust as they are helping Amy with her treatment and within a few hours, we had raised just shy of £1,200 - which is great and it means a massive amount to us to be able to do something like this for the charity.
“It is heart-breaking to see the impact that this is having - I know Amy is the one suffering but to see my son Rhys going through it as well; he is only 19-years-old and no teenagers should be going through what they are going through.
“Amy herself will be here on the day and she is going to take part for a short amount of time on the cycle.
“When we first found out about the cancer, she lost movement in her legs because of where it was but now that she is going through treatment, she is wanting to get more active so it will be great to have her involved.
“A lot of South Shields businesses have been donating prizes for us to raffle off on the day, along with a local rugby team and a local football team who are all coming to take part.
“I can’t believe how much interest there has been in it in the space of a few days.”
Rhys has also revealed that Powerhouse Gym is open to all members of the public on the day of the challenge via a £5 day pass - with all proceeds raised from these passes on the day going to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
At the time of writing, £1,175 has been raised so far. You can view and donate to the fundraiser at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-powerhouse-family-member.