5km swim for food bank volunteer

Food bank volunteer Michael is preparing to swim five kilometres for Hackney Foodbank.

The 31-year-old accountant has been volunteering for the food bank since January and the experience motivated him to fundraise.

He said: “I started swimming last year and I was rubbish. I could always swim but I was really slow and just splashed about. I signed up for some lessons with the Swim Doctor and started swimming every day. They taught me to extend my stroke and slow it down and something just clicked. I learnt that if you want to swim faster, you have to swim slower!  

“It’s very relaxing – it’s the one time of the day when I’m not in front of a screen. As well as being good for my physical health, swimming benefits my mental health.”

Michael hopes to complete 100 lengths of London Fields Lido in 100 minutes on Saturday April 27th and then he’s planning to hit the pub with his friends. He’s raised more than £900 so far.

He started volunteering at Hackney Foodbank’s Friday night food distribution centre earlier this year.

He said: “Seeing just how busy the food bank is was pretty confronting. I was already planning a 5km swim but realized I could get my friends to sponsor me and raise funds.

The food bank staff and volunteers are really nice people – it’s a really good cause.”

Michael, who lives in Hackney Central, grew up in Sydney, Australia. He fell in love with London in 2017 when he came for his grandmother’s 90th birthday and moved here shortly after. 

Click here to sponsor him.