Doing the Charleston for Charity – Danceathon Update

In less than two weeks, three members of Pinney Talfourd’s team will be strutting their stuff for a full 24 hours in support of SNAP (Special Needs and Parents). We catch up on their progress.

Solicitors Catherine Loadman, Sue Nash and Lucy Birch have pledged to dance the day (and night!) away in Pinney Talfourd’s latest endeavour to raise money for their Charity of the Year, SNAP. The event will commence at 12 noon on Saturday 21^st October and will finish a full 24 hours later at 12 noon on Sunday 22^nd October.

We caught up with the ladies during their normal busy work schedules to see how their training for the Danceathon was progressing.

How have you been preparing for the 24-hour dancing stint?

Catherine: I have been trying to frequent the gym more often whilst undertaking some more ‘fun’ activities, such as Zumba classes with Jess from Fitjess Fitness!

Lucy: Just the one Zumba class so far; I need to get my act into gear!

Sue: I’ve been having intensive physio! Just after we agreed to undertake the Danceathon, I injured my knee – again. Thanks to an amazing Sports Therapist, I am now able to walk normally again.

What are you most concerned about during the Danceathon?

Lucy: Definitely staying awake, although I’m hoping that the adrenalin will kick in and keep me up throughout!

Sue: I’m most concerned about my knee giving up the ghost halfway through the night!

Catherine: Staying awake and sore feet – I am certainly not looking forward to Monday morning!

What songs are you most looking forward to dancing to?

Sue: Slow ones!

Lucy: I am actually really looking forward to dancing along to the songs that have been chosen by our colleagues as part of Pinney’s Picks.

Catherine: I think that the dance anthems and 80s classics will keep us going.

Do you have any supporters coming along to cheer you on?

Lucy: Some of my family and friends have created a staggered schedule throughout the 24 hours, so I will always have somebody to keep me motivated, even during the twilight hours!

Sue: I’m hoping that my assistant, Linda Adams and other colleagues will be putting in an appearance to watch me strut my stuff!

Catherine: I have some of my friends coming along – one of them has even pledged to be there at 1 am to keep my spirits up!

Why did you decide to put yourself forward for the Danceathon?

Catherine: I wanted to do something that people would think ‘Wow – that’s a real challenge’. SNAP is such a great charity and, having visited the centre several times, you can really see where the money goes – from their excellent facilities to the fantastic support that they provide to families. I just wanted to be able to raise a serious amount of money for them. I do love dancing, so this kind of challenge is right up my street.

Sue: In the words of my personal trainer; ‘if you’re going to fight a bear, might as well make it a Grizzly!’ Those words have stuck with me throughout this.

Lucy: It’s for a great cause, and as I’m not a runner or cyclist, I felt this was the best way to be able to contribute to the firm’s Charity of the Year.

What tips would you give each other to keep motivated?

Lucy: I think having some food rewards at the end of each hour is good motivation!

Catherine: Just keep thinking about how much we are raising for a great cause; it is definitely going to be hard at times and we’ll be exhausted, but it will all be worth it if we smash our fundraising target for SNAP.

Sue: We just need to remember why we’re doing it – we needed to do something amazing and huge, so this is the perfect challenge. Plus – think of all the calories we’ll be burning!

Want to get involved?

The entire 24-hour Danceathon will be live-streamed on our Facebook page, giving everybody the opportunity to cheer the ladies on in their endeavours.

For those to want to get involved further and really keep the ladies motivated, we have launched our JustGiving fundraising page – people can donate £5 and choose a song to be played during the allocated ‘Pinney Playlist Picks’ hours throughout the event! If you’d like to choose a song for our fantastic three to dance along to, visit our JustGiving page.

Corporate sponsorship opportunities

We are also offering businesses the opportunity to sponsor an hour during the Danceathon with a range of different sponsorship packages. If you are a business or company and would like to hear more about these, please email our Marketing Team at communications@pinneytalfourd.co.uk.