Over the last 26 years, we have helped raise over £91,000,000 for thousands of incredible causes. Our charity clients include: The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, CoppaFeel!, the British Heart Foundation, Mind, Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Sands, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Prostate Cancer Research, the NSPCC, Comic Relief, UNICEF, Save the Children and hundreds of smaller organisations. We are hugely experienced at operating challenges to the highest standards of quality and safety and will do all we can to help your organisation recruit and engage participants and supporters.
We caught up with The Albion Foundation on how their recent Trek to Petra challenge went…
Please introduce yourself…
I’m Jonathan Ward, Deputy Director at The Albion Foundation and 17 of our supporters took on the Trek to Petra Challenge in March 2025, raising over £75,000 to support our cause.
Why did you choose Charity Challenge?
We have worked with Charity Challenge for a long time now. So far, we have done the Great Wall Discovery Trek, Trek to Machu Picchu and Trek to Petra. From day one, Charity Challenge have been phenomenal. I genuinely feel like they are invested in the charity aspect of it. It’s not your usual travel company; they understand that the core of a challenge is to do good in the community.
From Simon to the entire team, everyone sees this as the most important thing, meaning that the good of the charity is always at the center of any decision-making. I simply trust Charity Challenge; there’s a lot of work and due diligence that takes place to make these trips possible, and we’ve witnessed this in action. The rapport Charity Challenge has with the ground staff overseas and what’s been provided on the previous challenges we’ve done puts me at so much ease – they just make it so simple for us.
What were you hoping to achieve?
This is our third challenge – and you can worry that the novelty may wear off… but what’s fantastic about the plethora of challenges Charity Challenge offers is that there’s something for everyone. As a foundation, we were aiming to raise £50,000, which we’ve surpassed considerably, reaching £75,000. The main aim of our challenges are to raise an amount of money that’s able to make a real difference back home. But they also provide the people who take part in these challenges a chance to not only do good, but to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, doing something they’d never usually get a chance to.
It’s about creating a team and a sense of one-ness. The way the challenges are set up means this happens quite easily. So, it’s a mixture of generating funds and giving people an unbelievable opportunity to do something good whilst also making lasting memories.
How did it go?
A whole array of the West Bromwich Albion community took part. The chair of our trustees, James Verrier, took part and we also had a lot of repeat participants on this challenge from our previous one. We also had foundation partners and people from the team’s supporter groups, like Proud Baggies and Warwickshire Baggies.
What were your highlights?
Firstly, this was the most cohesive team we’ve had, everyone became like family. My highlight was witnessing this small group of men, who were all from different walks of life and would never usually come together. By the second day, they had become friends and one evening, were just standing together talking about the stars. Listening to that conversation was a real proud moment. Everyone in the group was talking and helping each other out. This Charity Challenge brought these people together to share these lasting memories.
Each day was immersive – from the food and the culture, to the way of life that the local guides showed us, they made it so amazing for us and enabled us to embrace it.
Approaching Petra was another major highlight. When you arrive, you start at the back and see the Treasury first, which is incredible. But that’s not it! You’re there for six hours walking through, and it got better and better. I didn’t expect it to be like a miniature town; it was just phenomenal. There was a theatre, houses, markets and alleys. The whole thing was breathtaking and that day was especially incredible.
What did Charity Challenge do well?
Whilst organising the challenge, we had to rearrange dates for reasons out of our control, but everything was done in the right way, thoughtful yet calm. Charity Challenge’s perspective was whatever had to be done, was done and to a standard where I never had to question it. The integrity of the organisation is clear; there’s no blurred lines. Which, for charities, to be able to put your trust in that is phenomenal to have. The flexibility is great too with logistics and setting the challenge up. The effort, time and communication with the local ground team overseas team is evident to see – it’s like a well-oiled machine that just works.
For example, on previous challenges, we had a delayed flight, but there was no issue, everything was sorted by Charity Challenge. These things can happen, yet when a problem arose, it was solved immediately. The professionalism of the organisation is something I can’t question!
Testimonial
Charity Challenge are not your usual travel company; they are genuinely invested in the charity aspect of it – they understand that the core of a challenge is to do good in the community and bring people together.
Jonathan Ward, Deputy Director at The Albion Foundation
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Watch our Trek to Petra video below…
Learn more about our corporate challenges here, download our corporate brochure.
If you’re interested in engaging your employees with a challenge event – book your free initial consultation now!
During our consultation, we will discuss your business needs, goals and values, provide you with options aligned to your objectives, and then of course, answer any questions that you might have. We’ll also discuss what support we offer and how we will work together throughout your challenge journey.
You can expect this call to last about 30 minutes. We look forward to speaking with you soon!
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