Hello one and all.
Myself and a friend plan to attempt "Kili" in June 07 with Charity Challenge in aid of Cancer Research Uk and have already raised £10k for our chosen charity.Was just wondering if anyone else is attempting it in June or if anyone has completed it recently and has some good advice to give?
We hope to do the summit push in our kilts!
Hi Delyth
Thanks for your reply it's good to have a response from someone.Am heading out on the 20th June [the day before my wedding anniversary...woops!] returning on the 1st of July.Really looking forward to the whole adventure.Was supposed to of made the trip last December but snapped my achillies tendon twice last summer so hopefully it's third time lucky for me.Have also been training hard and spending lots of money on new kit, although santa was very kind to me!
Cheers Alasdair
Love the idea about taking on the summit in kilts! Might do the same but a would be wary of frostbite.
Am also doing Kili in June but with SCOPE so I think thats a week earlier. You have made some amount of money and to be honest am still struggling away. Any good tips on raising funds.
Kirk
Hi Kirk
Thanks for your reply.We are going on the 20th so I assume you are going on the 13th.Cant wait!Have been raising money since last Feb as was due to go to Kili in December 06 but I had a wee accident which required two operations during the summer months.Thats the reason we have managed to raise so much.Both myself and the guy I'm going with, Alan,are involved in the hospitality trade in Glasgow and have already completed a few big money raising events.The first one alone we raised £4500 which got us off to a good start.It's all about pre-planning and putting in a lot of time and effort.It also helps if you are really passionate about the charity you are raising funds for.Both myself and Allan have had family lost to cancer so it makes it all very worthy.Hope to raise about 15k by August which would be good.How's your training going? I'm away to the Cobbler and the Arrochar Alps on Sunday to get the lungs pumping.Check out our justgiving page @ www.justgiving.com/alasdairmccallum or our web page @ www.charityclimb.8k.com for a good laugh.
Cheers for now and up yer kilt!
Alasdair
My training just now is confined to the gym. When it gets better a will hit ben lomond and probably wander around the Campsies. One of my mates is really into hill running and I might join him. Would probably have to get something better than ma trusty silver shadows for that though.
I am aiming to organise a race night and have a raffle and auction in the same night. Managed to get a signed rangers and celtic strip to auction and trying to get a scotland one as well. Hopefully that would help raise some funds. I am holding it at the gym and they have been good enough to do it for nothing. Result.
All the best for your training and further fundraising. Hope you reach the 15k.
So far I have found that most local companies and business' are happy to help,either through simple goodwill or because they might get some sort of publicity. I am doing stuff with my local gym and they will are hoping to get a picture of me on the summit with a gym t-shirt on to put on their wall or newsletter. In return I can use their function suite and have dineers and month's membership's for raffle.
Haven't auction the strips yet. Will probably do that on a race night I am planning. Hopefully they might bring in some good money.
Hi Alasdair,
Looks like we're on the same trek to Kili on 20 June with Charity Challenge. Great to see two fellow Scots trekking to dizzying heights! I'm fundraising in aid of a Starfish, an international development charity who provide opportunity for children made vulnerable or orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.
Have you had any good pointers/advice from people which you could share with me? My training is off the ground but certainly need to step it up in a big hurry!
Hope to hear from you,Katrina
Hi Katrina
Good to know that you are also attempting Kili on the 20th! Thats a total of 4 people that I know of going in our group and 3 of them are Scottish.Think there is a total of about 20 booked on our trek.
One of the directors at Charity Challenge informed me that a really good sleeping bag [comfort rating of minus15-18] is very high on the priority list as he has been on 14 previous visits and recommends "Rab." Where about in Scotland are you living as I can recommend a few good shops in Glasgow for all your requirements?
I think getting hill fit and becoming used to walking on a daily basis is what we are all after.I have had an interest in the great outdoors from a very early age and have been away "munro bagging" every weekend with my friend Alan throughout this year.It also gives us a good chance to try out our kit. Have been spending money like it is going out of fashion on new gear as I'm never out of outdoor shops!
Have you got much organised yet? I'm really getting excited and it's only March.Dread to think what I'll be like nearer the time.
Starfish looks like a fantastic organisation to raise vital funds for.Do you have much more to raise?
Cheers for now
Hi Amy
The best advice I could give is to focus on one really big event and a whole lot of smaller ones.We organised a dinner dance with 85 raffle prizes and an auction as our main event and have since completed: a skydive,ceilidh,coffee morning,bag packing,a sweepstake,half marathons,car boot sale x 2, and donations from lots of local charities and clubs.We have also put together various types of marketing material which has been sent out to 100+ companies.E-mail everyone you know your justgiving page and ask them to forward it to everyone they know!Try also to get your story in the local press as that generates a lot of interest usually.Contact your local radio station and try to get someone to sponsor you throughout.Leave collection tins with local shops.
Thats now 5 people I know of going on the 20th. Are you registered through Charity Challenge? How is your training going?
Hope some of the advice above is of use to you.
Kind regards
Hi Belle
We approached companies by any means possible.We started firstly thinking of a theme that we could sell and promote fairly easily. In our case it was the "tartan trekkers."After this we took a few photos with our kilts on and worked around this. My brother is a dab hand at producing phamphlets/fliers/posters etc and it has just rocketed from there.A good e-mail with recent photos is also handy and a standard letter is another good option.Cancer Research UK our chosen charity sent us out a fantastic fundraising pack with lots of informative tips and ideas.I also used the yellow pages for kilt hire addresses ect.
Hope that helps a little.
Hi Alasdair
Your advice has been really useful, thank you. I am registered through Charity Challenge and I'm starting to get quite excited about the trip. My training is not going too badly I go to the gym before work and on my days off I try to do a few hours hill walking. I really enjoy hill walking its the gym thats boring! My Mum did the same challenge about three years ago so she has been a great help! I think i'll be at a good level of fitness when we go its the altitude that i'm worried about.
Hows your training going? Have you ever done anything like this before?
Amy