SKIBBEREEN’s BodyActive gym will host a fundraiser next month in aid of the people of Palestine and those affected by suicide, writes Chris Benn.

The event, called the Hour of Hope, will take place at the Marsh Road venue on Sunday November 1.

Owner Jonathan Davis decided to organise the event after being contacted by HUGG, a charity support group for suicide bereavement, and local barber Ahmet Hallak, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in Lebanon.

“It came up one morning, one of these thousands of sad stories, that one of these bombs was left off in a hospital where children were inside,” said Jonathan.

“I just looked down at my own two kids going, ‘that could be me, you know, that could be my family’.”

Jonathan hopes to raise up to €10,000 with participants asked to donate €20 or more and take part in the day-long challenge.

It begins at 5am, with participants choosing to walk, jog or run between 2k and 6k on the hour, every hour, for ten hours.

“What we’re making very clear to people is that you don’t have to start at 5am, and people don’t have to be there at 2pm,” Jonathan explained.

“They might join us for one hour, they might join us for three hours of it. It’s entirely up to the person and their family.”

Over the summer the committee organised Run Skibb, which raised €25,000 for local charities around West Cork.

Jonathan said: “If we can create a real community connection that day, that would mean a lot to me and it would mean a lot to our members, that we come together, we can move our body and we can give something back to people who need it.”