PRESS RELEASE: FitQuid partners with The Royal Marines Charity to promote the mental well-being of veterans
FitQuid announces a trial partnership with RMA — The Royal Marines Charity to promote the positive mental wellbeing of Veterans.
FitQuid has commenced an innovative trial partnership with RMA — The Royal Marines Charity, to assist in the promotion of the mental and physical wellbeing of their Members as we emerge from Covid.
This year, RMA-The Royal Marines Charity celebrates its 75th anniversary, marking the foundation of one of its predecessor organisations, the Royal Marines Association in 1946. With over 16,000 members around the world, the charity hopes that working with FitQuid will provide another tool to help them achieve their overarching mission, to provide a lifetime of support to the Royal Marines family, particularly those in their later years.
The trial will see around 200 ex-service personnel, regardless of age or location, trial FitQuid’s technology. They will be set tailored challenges with the overall aim of improving their physical and mental wellbeing — an ambition that is especially welcome after the difficulties posed by Covid-19. In addition to the physical and mental benefits, both partners are hopeful that the collaboration will reduce the increasing rates of loneliness and isolation by bringing people together to compete and challenge each other.
FitQuid, backed by one of the UK’s largest impact investors Fortunis Capital, developed and pioneered their unique gamification technology after identifying a gap in the market to utilise gamification for physical and mental benefits. The concept is simple — users earn virtual coins known as ‘FitQuids’ for completing challenges and can spend these in the online store or donate the coins to charity. RMA — The Royal Marines Charity is hopeful that the trial will raise funds, improve physical and well-being while providing an opportunity for the test users to come together and challenge one another to be the best.
In 2020, after entering Fortunis Capital’s R&D programme, FitQuid’s innovation was recognised and they were crowned winners of the Foreign Innovation Award at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards. With an ambition to partner with other leading charities to raise awareness of the benefits of bringing people together, FitQuid is hopeful that their collaboration with RMA-The Royal Marines Charity will prove that their concept can change lives.
Jonathan Ball, Chief Executive of RMA — The Royal Marines Charity said: “RMA — The Royal Marines Charity are delighted to be partnering with FitQuid for the trial of their new app, which aims to promote physical activity and combat social isolation. By trialing this technology, we look towards tackling social isolation still further, keeping or getting our members active and connected.
“FitQuid is collaborating with nearly 200 members of our Association to trial and test the app over the next month or so during the app’s ‘beta’ testing. A broad demographic of members have kindly come forward to assist and their feedback will be crucial in the final stages of the app’s development.
“We see this as a great opportunity to further seek to reinforce those close bonds that exist across the Royal Marines Family: serving, retired; older, younger; tech-savvy and tech-fearful!
“I am delighted to see the Royal Marines community leading the way here. And I hope other military and civilian charities and organisations will benefit from this pioneering approach if it is rolled out.
“If the trial proves successful, after rigorous testing and robust feedback, we hope to roll this out across the extent of the Royal Marines Family. We hope this partnership will develop and help numerous members both today and in years to come.”
Mahdi Almubarak, Chief Operating Officer at FitQuid welcomed the news, saying: “This is an incredibly exciting collaboration for our team at FitQuid. From the conception of FitQuid, our aim has been to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of the wider community by bringing people together to connect and do the things that they enjoy most.
“Working with the Royal Marines Charity not only allows us to trial this but allows us to give something back to those who have risked their lives in the service of their country.
“Our gamification technology is revolutionary in that it provides a genuine tailored approach to wellbeing. It’s not simply a case of running a vast number of miles to complete challenges — we prioritise and promote a holistic approach focused on the benefits of people coming together and working towards a shared goal or objective.
“Naturally, Covid-19 has disrupted physical human interaction in a way that we have never experienced before. Our work with the Royal Marines Charity aims at reversing that trend, provide solutions to challenges being faced by their members, and ultimately say thank you for their years of service.”
