support 

We provide a full range of support services to our participants (your supporters) before departure, during the challenge, and once they have returned.
communication

There are normally eight main pieces of information sent to participants which are mostly accessible from their secure members’ area of our website.

1. Once a booking is made and their deposit is paid, the participant will receive a confirmation email (or letter if they do not have a valid email address) explaining that we are processing their booking and that we will be seeking authorisation from their chosen charity for them to fundraise in your name.
2. They will also receive an email from our secure payment providers confirming their deposit payment has been taken from their credit or debit card.
3. Once the charity has authorised them, they will receive a further email/letter to confirm that their place is secured on the challenge and provide them with a username and password to access their own secure password protected members area. This contains everything they need to know about the charity, fundraising, fitness training and of course the challenge itself. Please refer to the how it works/administration/confirmation section to see the full range of info provided.
4. Five months before departure, we will send an enewsletter with optional extension ideas for after the challenge.
5. Three months before departure, the participant will receive another communication (uploaded to their members’ area) reminding them of the sponsorship deadline (10 weeks before departure), and providing flight details to help with arranging connection flights to London. We also provide a copy of the itinerary if changes have been made, and if a visa is required, we provide application forms and notes on how to apply.
6. One month before departure, the participant will receive another communication (uploaded to their members’ area) covering their confirmed flight details, arrangements for arrival at London and any intermediate stops on the way, reminders about passports, visa, insurance and other important travel documents. All of these are regularly updated once a challenge returns so some parts may have changed since they booked.
7. Good luck calls are made 24-48 hours before departure. It’s normally at this point that participants start to panic that they have forgotten something or are not fit enough to go so these calls are normally very much appreciated and worthwhile to allay any fears/concerns.
8. Once the participant returns, we send out a congratulations letter, with colour certificate from Charity Challenge and a feedback form to gather their thoughts on how they found the challenge and pre-challenge advice and support, and how we can improve the trip. It is also a useful source to find out if they would be keen on doing another challenge and where they would most like to go. All feedback is passed on to the challenge manager at our office who then amends the relevant information sheets on our website (if applicable).

All information is uploaded to the individual’s members’ area and they will receive an email and a text message to alert them to go and download the latest information. If they do not go into their members’ area within a week, they will get a reminder email and text message, and the same a week later.

fundraising advice

We provide general fundraising advice and a full A-Z of Fundraising Ideas in the participant’s members’ area. We encourage your supporters to set up a Virgin Money Giving / Justgiving / Everyclick / Bmycharity page if you work with them, and they can download personalised sponsor forms from their secure members’ area which are charity branded, totally transparent in terms of who is paying what, and contain gift aid declarations. Any questions we receive to do with fundraising, or about the work of the charity we will redirect to you.  We have expanded our fundraising information on the website, but are always keen to hear more ideas. If you have anything you want to add or share, please do send into us.

fitness training

Getting fit is a very important part of pre-challenge preparation, and its importance should not be underestimated. Even if participants already lead an active lifestyle and exercise regularly, it is a good idea to adapt their training towards the chosen activity, (trekking, biking, horse riding etc). This is vital in order to build the strength, cardiovascular stamina and muscle endurance necessary to undertake the challenge ahead. Everyone is different and has unique training needs; therefore we cannot offer a definitive fitness programme. However, we do provide some general guidelines on the types of fitness training that participants should be looking to undertake. This information is provided in the participants members’ area and can also be accessed via our website. It includes a Basic Stretch Programme, a Trekking Challenge Training Guide or Biking Challenge Training Guide depending on the challenge being undertaken.

fitness training weekends

We encourage everyone to take part in a training weekend, and organise a series of high altitude, mid altitude and low altitude trekking and biking training weekends through Expedition Wise. The training takes place in the heart of Snowdonia National Park in the mountains and roads of North Wales. All of the instructors who organise the weekends are dedicated hill walkers, mountaineers and mountain bikers, and have a great depth of knowledge of the local area and what levels of fitness and attitude are required on a Charity Challenge. The accommodation is at Pen-y-Pass youth hostel at the foot of Snowdon. If you are running an exclusive challenge, or have many supporters taking part in open challenges and wish to organise a training weekend for your cause, this is also possible. In this instance as everyone would be raising money for the same charity, it would be an ideal opportunity to give a talk on the Saturday night about your cause. This is a good time to meet your fundraisers face to face and encourage them in their training and fundraising.

itinerary

The itinerary shows a day by day breakdown of what is intended to be achieved. However, due to the environments in which we operate, we reserve the right to amend the itinerary should we feel it necessary and in the best interests of the group. Each day shown on the itinerary provides description of terrain, altitude, kms to be covered and the approx. number of hours of activity. It also details the type of accommodation whether camping or hotels or other.  

Q&As

For each trip an extensive list of questions is answered, covering many of the topics that cause concern amongst participants including food and drink, accommodation, toilets and washing facilities, support, health and safety and so on. We also provide some local language translations so everyone can learn a few words to help with interaction with the support teams and the local communities.

country fact file

Regularly updated by feedback from both challenge leaders and participants, the country fact file is a source of information about all the little things you might not think about until you are there. Post offices, electricity, shape of electric plug sockets, telephones and credit card usage, conversion rates, brief history and geography, local customs, do’s and don’ts, and so on.

kit list

Many of the participants have never done anything like this before and have little idea where to start with regards to what is required. We provide a comprehensive kit list and explanation about what is needed and why. We also provide discounts at a huge range of camping and equipment stores around the UK.

travel tips

Since many of our clients are taking on the challenge for the first time, we provide extensive travel tips. This includes making sure that they have all of the travel documents needed and up to date such as: passport, visas (if applicable) and travel insurance.

health notes

The purpose of these health notes is to encourage the participant to prepare themselves well for their Charity Challenge. They include advice about vaccinations, medical kits, deep vein thrombosis, other in-flight advice, culture shock, diarrhoea, dehydration, sunburn / sun damage, sore feet, cuts and grazes, animal bites, insect borne diseases, and specific notes for diabetics.

high altitude

Many of our challenges are at high altitude. Healthy people may travel rapidly to 11,480ft above sea level but can develop symptoms of acute mountain sickness after arrival (headache, nausea, breathing difficulty, mental confusion). Those with respiratory cardiac problems may experience symptoms on arrival at even lower levels. We provide comprehensive notes on the impact of high altitude on the human body so trekkers are prepared and well informed before they travel.

visas

Participants must hold a full ten-year passport, valid for at least six months from the end of their Charity Challenge and with one blank page for the visa and any entry and exit stamps. We will send participants any necessary visa application forms and will advise them of the costs involved. If they have any questions, or need help obtaining their visa or renewing their passport, we work with Zierer Visa Service (ZVS) who offer Charity Challenge clients a special rate in obtaining the visa on their behalf.

travel insurance

Please refer to the detailed section on insurance.

vaccinations

Charity Challenge provides guidelines on the vaccinations and malaria protection needed for all the countries we operate in. Individuals are however encouraged to consult their GP or travel health clinic at least two months prior to departure, for further advice. Some vaccinations cannot be given at the same time and some take time to be effective.  For example, immunisation against Hepatitis B, can take six months to give full protection. So we encourage every participant to see their doctor even if they are going at short notice, as some protection may be better than none. Some immunisations are free under the NHS.

medical kits

Charity Challenge provides fully stocked medical kits compiled by medical experts. The kits are distributed to the Challenge Leader or the accompanying doctor (if applicable). The doctors also carry their own medical kits in addition to the Charity Challenge group medical kit. However, on all of the challenges, we recommend each individual takes their own medical supply (details are given in the Kit list).

airport services

We provide participants with access to an online booking facility to reserve discounted accommodation and or parking at the airport the night before they depart or on the night they return.