Milton Keynes Argos swim the length of the channel for Macmillan

A team of Argos colleagues has this month completed swimming the length of the English Channel in just 12 weeks, all in a bid to raise money for the company's charity partner, Macmillan Cancer Support.

Giving up their free time, the group from Argos’ head office in Milton Keynes spent hours clocking up lengths in their local pools to help support people affected by cancer. From breast stroke to back stroke, the water babies covered a staggering total of 277km between them, which meant over 11,000 lengths of the pool.

It’s not just swimathons for these keen fundraisers - several of whom helped to raise over £1,000 for Macmillan last year by holding a World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Mount Snowdon.

Having raised £680 so far, the team has already exceeded their initial fundraising target of £500, which is enough to fund a full 24 hours of Macmillan nursing care.

Greg Bacon, senior development manager at Argos said: “We had such a great time with the Snowdon event, so we were really keen to take on a new challenge. We’re so proud to have smashed our original target already, and we hope that we can now go on to raise even more money for such a wonderful cause.”

Catriona Munn, senior partnership manager at Macmillan Cancer Support added: “Here at Macmillan we are so grateful for all the support we’ve received from Argos colleagues and their customers. We want to say thank you to the team that swam this huge distance to raise money for us. It will help fund vital nursing hours for the growing number of people living with cancer.”

Since voting to support Macmillan as their UK charity partner last year, Argos colleagues and customers have raised £1.8 million, funding over 64,000 hours of Macmillan nursing care.

To donate please visit their Just Giving page on: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ArgosChallenge