Cycling 100km to raise funds for FNF

On Friday 22 November, Emily Pimm is cycling 100km to raise funds and awareness for FNF. Emily is National Practice Innovation Lead at Skills for Care, she is a registered general nurse and Co-Chair of the South West Social Care Nurse Advisory Council. Emily is also a Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholar and Alumni Champion and a Queen’s Nurse. In this blog, Emily tells us why she is taking on this incredible cycling challenge and why she is supporting FNF.

“On Friday 22 November, I will be completing a 100km bike ride on Zwift to raise money for the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF).

I was lucky enough to have been awarded a Leadership Scholarship with FNF in 2022 – this experience was life-changing for me. I knew that I wanted to develop my knowledge, skills and confidence around leadership, but I didn’t understand the extent of the networking and development opportunities that came with completing this scholarship.

In 2023, I was given an opportunity to complete a Shared Professional Decision Making programme with FNF, further developing my coaching and leadership skills, and enabling me to take the position of Chair of one of the 42 Social Care Nurse Advisory Councils (SCNACs). I now continue to work as a Co-Chair for one of the newly formed seven regional SCNACs and am working as a National Practice Innovation Lead with Skills for Care. This year I became the first Social Nurse to carry the Lamp at the 59^th Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service in Westminster Abbey. A fantastic opportunity to promote the value of social care nursing as well as an amazing personal and professional experience for me.

I would like to raise money for FNF to help provide these opportunities for more nurses.  I have a passion for improving the academic, professional and personal experiences for nurses working in social care and would like to encourage more nurses in this sector to take that step in applying for a Leadership Scholarship with FNF, or any of the other leadership programmes they provide.

I am looking forward to the challenge of riding 100k – and it will be a challenge, particularly as I live with a chronic auto immune condition affecting the strength in my joints due to pain and inflammation. But I am feeling determined to complete this!

If you would like to keep up to date with my challenge, please follow me on X (PimmEmily) and/or LinkedIn (EmilyPimm) as I will be posting updates throughout the day.

I am so thankful to those who have already donated – and would be so grateful for any further donations to help reach my fundraising target. You can visit my fundraising page on Justgiving.com”