In a still from one of his push up videos, Bill Guiney does push ups atop scenic Signal Hill. Submitted photo
Renews man celebrates a successful fourth year for the fundraiser
By Mark Squibb | Vol. 12 No. 16 (August 5, 2019)
Bill Guiney of Renews estimates he did about 800 push ups between July 13 and 14.
Add to that, Guiney had been doing push ups everyday for the 100 days leading up to that particular weekend.
It’s all part of a well-known initiative begun by Guiney and his wife Susan about four years ago to raise funds and awareness for mental health.
The fourth time round, Guiney told the Irish Loop Post, was another success in the books.
“It went exceptionally well, we had a lot of participants,” he said, estimating that over a hundred people attended the events in St. Johns and Fermuse on July 13 and July 14 respectively.
“’There were a few people at the bar (In Da Loop in Fermeuse) who weren’t involved in the push ups at all, and they got down on the floor and they started doing the push ups,” he added.
New to this year’s push up fundraiser was a 100-day countdown to the big weekend, which saw Guiney doing his push ups at schools, police stations, businesses, parks, monuments, town halls— anywhere and everywhere he could.
“The 100-day countdown attracted a lot of people,” he said, noting it would be impossible to tell just how many participated over the 100 days.
The unofficial total for funds raised this year is just over $15,000, with more money to be totaled.
To put into perspective how much the fundraiser has grown over the years, Paul Fifield, manager of corporate services at Canadian Mental Health NL Division, said earlier in July that after this year’s event, he expects Guiney’s push-ups will have raised a total of $25,000 for the organization.
Guiney said he intends to be at it again next year.
