MOST school teachers cherish their weekend off, spending time relaxing and recuperating before the busy week ahead.
However, rather than recharging his batteries last weekend, Les Quennevais School teacher Kalem Taylor took on an extreme challenge in aid of Movember.
On Saturday, Mr Taylor’s took on a 60km walk, a 60 mile cycle, and a swim of 60 lengths in a 25-metre pool – the equivalent of almost a mile. It took him around 18 gruelling hours to complete the mammoth challenge, starting at 6am and finished just after midnight.
Since launching his fundraiser, Mr Taylor has more than doubled his initial target and raised over £1,300 for Movember UK, a national men’s health charity that supports those affected by prostate cancer, testicular cancer and focuses on mental health & suicide prevention.
Earlier this year, Jersey’s suicide prevention strategy revealed that men were 2.1 times more likely than women to take their own lives and that between 2012 and 2021, 68% of all suicides in Jersey involved men.
In a post on social media, Mr Taylor shared the inspiration for his challenge, explaining that the number 60 represents the average number of men worldwide who will lose their lives to suicide each hour.
He added that this challenge was in support of “all the dads, brothers, sons and mates in our lives.”
Following the completion of his challenge, Mr Taylor, on social media, said: “I’m so pleased to say that I completed it all.
“The final 30k of the walk was the toughest but at least the weather was on my side.
“Was not easy to say the least, but was for an amazing cause.”
Donations can be made via Mr Taylor’s fundraising page on the UK Movember website.
