history

Climbing Kilimanjaro often proves to be a life changing experience. It certainly was for Jeremy Gane & Simon Albert, the founding Directors of Charity Challenge. Jeremy climbed the world highest freestanding mountain for the first time back in 1984. He was a clock and watch repairer at the time but he fell in love with Africa and on his return to the UK set up Gane & Marshall, now the UK's number one climbing outfit for Kilimanjaro. Fifteen years later he led a group of charity trekkers up the mountain. It was his fifteenth summit climb and the first for Simon Albert, one of the fundraising participants. The two became good friends and subsequently organised and led trips to Cuba, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia together before setting up Charity Challenge.

They approached the Charity Commission, The Civil Aviation Authority, Centre for Environmentally Responsible Tourism (CERT), Institute of Fundraising, Tourism Concern and many other organisations to make sure that Charity Challenge worked to the best practices in the charity and travel industries.

Over the last five years, Charity Challenge has established an incredible infrastructure for running numerous and varied group adventure travel expeditions. Charity Challenge has also achieved real credibility and awareness within the charity sector and accomplished very promising results not only for the organisation but for charities, participants and local communities too. The number of people undertaking an expedition event with Charity Challenge has doubled each year from its creation in 1999. In 2008, Charity Challenge expects to help more than 3,000 participants to take part in a fundraising expedition.

Charity Challenge has worked with many of the UK's largest charities (including NSPCC, Barnardos, Anthony Nolan Trust, Diabetes UK) and many smaller charities. Over 750 charities have been supported through Charity Challenge, raising approx. £15milion.