Challenges, Inspiration

Happy ‘Dashain’! Find out about this colourful Nepalese Festival here

October 16, 2012

The longest and most auspicious of Nepal’s annual celebrations, the 15-day festival of Dashain is also probably one of its most eagerly anticipated. As the skies above the bustling streets of Kathmandu fill with kites, families across the country prepare to don new clothes and celebrate the victory of the goddess, Durga over the evil demon, Mahishasura. This is a time for celebration and family. It has to be said though, the animal population of Nepal don’t greet the celebrations with quite the same level of anticipation. During the festival goats, buffaloes and chickens in their thousands become an integral part of the sacrifice and the feasting!

The festival begins on Ghatasthapana, the first day of the bright lunar fortnight of the month of Ashvin. On this auspicious day the priests bless the holy water vessel, known as the ‘Kalash’, which is then installed in a prayer room on a bed of soil that is seeded with grains of barley, wheat or rice. For the next nine days these vessels and their germinating seeds are chanted over and nurtured by the most senior male member of the household. By the tenth day, Dashami, the sacred grass (called ‘Jamara’) has reached a length of some six inches and it, along with a mixture of ‘tika’, made from rice, yoghurt and vermillion, is bestowed on the younger members of the family. The red of the tika is meant to signify the blood that binds the family together. Continue Reading…

Responsible Tourism

Carbon Offsetting… It’s only fair

October 4, 2012

 It’s only fair…

As you psyche yourself up for the challenge you have set yourself, focussed on achieving your goals and raising much needed funds for your selected charity, we think it’s only fair we ensure that you can rest easy with regard to your impact on the environment.

So, five years ago we made a decision to offset carbon emissions from all our staff and customer flights, helping to protect the environment and improve the lives of millions of people across the world. We are delighted to report that we have now offset over 10,000 tonnes of CO2, that’s like taking more than 3000 cars off the road for a year.

I hear the sceptics amongst you ask – does carbon offsetting really help the environment?

We are convinced that it does. Even with the most determined efforts to cut emissions, we are all still responsible for carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. We can choose to ignore this and take no action. Or we can take responsibility and ensure that an equivalent amount of carbon is reduced elsewhere by carbon reduction projects.

And, as renowned environmentalist Jonathan Porritt recently said:

“If we are serious about tackling climate change – and the latest evidence from the Arctic underlines the urgency of doing so – then sound, science-based offsets should be a vital part of our toolkit. We simply cannot achieve the scale and speed of carbon reductions required by curbing our own emissions alone. But by investing in best quality offsets, we can start to make the sweeping cuts needed – while at the same time helping improve people’s quality of life in the here and now. It honestly should be a ‘no brainer’!” 

We work with industry experts ClimateCare to support projects that not only cut carbon emissions but save lives. How is that possible? Through offsetting emissions with world first, award winning projects like Carbon for Water.

This short video will tell you more in a few minutes than I could explain in the next ten pages, but in short, the project distributes simple gravity fed water filters, providing safe water to 4.5 million people in Kenya.

The filters mean women and girls no longer need to spend hours every day, collecting firewood to boil water and making it safe to drink. In this way the project cuts more than 2 million tonnes of CO2 a year. It also reduces waterborne diseases and reduces health problems caused by exposure to smoky fires.

Projects like this are made possible by money generated through sale of the carbon reductions to companies like us. And we are proud to support them on your behalf.

To learn more about all our charity challenges, and find out how else we get involved with responsible tourism you can read our Responsible Tourism policy here, and you can visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com . To keep up to date on all our challenge news, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking on the orange RSS button, you can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Challenges, Inspiration

Tales from the Trek Transylvania, By Charity Challenge bookings Manager Carmel

September 20, 2012

As the Bookings Manager at Charity Challenge, I am usually busy helping to coordinate the bookings in the office and spend most my time in envy of our freelance leaders who get to meet inspirational Challengers and experience the treks first-hand. Not this August though, when I was lucky enough to take part on one of our best and toughest European challenges in the so-called ‘Transylvanian Alps’ of Romania.

Romania isn’t an area of the world I had visited before, although I’ve heard some really great things about the country, so I really had no idea what to expect from the challenge other than it was going to be tough… and when my group of 7 got through Heathrow airport and onto the plane with only a few slightly worrying bag searches (Ewen’s rogue tarot cards seemed to have caused a disturbance), I knew that it was going to be a good week.

I think our EU challenges have a reputation for being slightly easier than others, but this is a total misconception. On our overseas challenges there are always days factored in to acclimatize and overcome jetlag, whereas in Transylvania you enjoy 4 solid days of trekking sandwiched in between tiring flights and sightseeing. The first day after touching down in Bucharest, where we met our infamous guide Ion, who was to become one of the heroes of the challenge, the group was taken immediately to the bus and we enjoyed a sightseeing tour of the beautiful Transylvanian city of Brasov, which still retains many of the 14th Century architectural features as well as the slightly bizarre ‘Hollywood’ inspired sign, set high up in the mountains surrounding the town.

This challenge is made up of 4 days, of which two are sort of a warm-up and cool-down day but will be long, hilly and extremely beautiful, and the other two are very tough, with difficult ascents and descents throughout the day.  One of the great things about the challenge is that you barely see anyone else on the trails at all. In fact the first and the third days were a real opportunity to see the shepherd huts and rural villages that make the culture of this area of Romania so unique in relation to the rest of the country. Although we didn’t see many people, we certainly saw a lot of sheep – I’m always going to remember Adriana being split from the group by a herd of sheep and running through them, arms flailing, while the rest of the group took a break to laugh at her situation! (we were concerned, of course).

Although you do need a certain level of fitness to complete the challenge, it was a testament to the group that we had so many people of different ages, backgrounds, injuries (I’m thinking of you Vicki!) and everyone managed to push themselves out of their comfort zone and get a lot out of the challenge. Which is basically our aim! After 3 hours of uphill struggle on day two of the challenge, Andrew, who has the Brecon Beacons on his back doorstep as a training ground, said that it’s ‘probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done’. And Kevin, who had already booked a place to climb Machu Picchu next year, was glad that he had taken on Transylvania in preparation for the dizzy heights (pardon the altitude pun) of the Andes. But the great thing about this challenge, without a doubt (aside from the scenery!), is the help and support you will get from the guiding team in country throughout. Despite a discovery of a fear of heights at the top of the narrow and steep ridge, Xanthe got past it and to the summit with the help of one of our amazing mountain guides, Florin, who helped her through the rough patch without having to look down. Meanwhile Ion was helping to push and pull Vicki up the scrambling section as she had her hand in a cast. Massive respect to her for completing that part with only one hand – I’m still impressed and not sure how she managed it! The scrambling day is the last day and after reaching the summit of 1800m we were rewarded for our efforts with lunch and a fantastic view over Transylvania, stretching from the Bucegi massive to the section of Pietra Crailui that we had just ascended.

I mentioned something earlier about Ion being a hero… well after Katie had taken the descents so hard on her knees over the week, it was impossible for her to go on for the last 90mins of the trek. Ion carried her (sometimes literally) down the hill, beating the rest of the group, before returning to help the rest of us. He then drove us home, served us all dinner and left in the morning at 5.30am to take part in a mountain biking competition with Florin. And, digressing from the trek a little, he ended up withdrawing from the competition in order to help an ambulance find an injured competitor. What a guy.

So with thanks to the brilliant guides, and lots of spectacular photos to take home, I said goodbye to the group at Heathrow airport. Through our struggles, successes and overdose on cheese (three meals a day!) we’ve all had some interesting bonding moments and I hope that they take away some great memories of Transylvania.

Noroc! (Cheers)

If you’ve been inspired by Carmel’s adventure, you can find out more about our Trek Transylvania here. You can find out more information about all our amazing challenges on our website at www.charitychallenge.com. To keep up to date on all our challenge news, please subscribe to this blog. You can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Challenges

China’s legendary terracotta army still growing!

September 17, 2012

Like so many zombies or Mummies in horror movie flicks, it seems Emperor Qinshihuang’s terracotta army just keeps on coming! As last week Chinese archeologists unearthed more than 100 additional soldiers, bringing total number of clay warriors found at Xi’an mausoleum to more than 8,000.

The Terracotta Army, otherwise known as the “Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses” first came to light when they were discovered on March 29, 1974 by a group of well digging farmers. They are believed to be sculptural depictions of the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of unified China, assembled to ensure his passage and continual protection in the afterlife. Continue Reading…

Inspiration, Latest News

The Over the Hill Club – exclusive challenges for the over 50’s!

September 7, 2012

Charity Challenge is proud to launch ‘The Over The Hill Club’, a collection of challenges set up exclusively for participants who are fifty years or over. This concept is the brain child of Charity Challenge Founder and Director Jeremy Gane, who has been a driving force behind the business over the last 12 years. He also runs African safari specialist tour operator Gane and Marshall.

So in Jeremy’s words, this is how the Over the Hill Club came into being…

“I’m sixty five years old in May next year on Oak Apple Day – and that does not console me. The pension will – a little – I guess.

It has been a decade or so in the gestation this crisis of age. I have battled against it intermittently and intemperately.

What has most cheered and enlightened me are the wonderful wild places, almost eternal when measured against our lives’ span. I’ve found solace in their quiet trails, remote valleys, uninhabited deserts, and snow capped mountains with only the footsteps of my guide and myself in the pristine snow. Continue Reading…

Inspiration

Charity Challenge Champion – Mark Roberts of the Elise for Life campaign

August 20, 2012

One of the many great things about the Olympics is that it brought so many truly extraordinary individuals into the headlines, people who have worked hard their entire lives to achieve their goal. In this climate of ‘Reality TV’ and ‘instant celebrity’ culture, it’s refreshing and makes a nice change to have success stories and inspiring individuals filling up the news.

That got us here at Charity Challenge thinking, and inspired, so we have decided to do a feature on an individual who we believe is outstanding and deserving of a huge amount of credit for his achievements. This person is Mark Roberts, the champion behind the “Elise for Life” campaign in aid of The Christie Charity.

Despite the fact that Mark has taken part in a couple of our challenges, it is not so much his physical achievements we think deserve honouring (although anybody who can take on two of our Charity Challenges back to back deserves kudos!), but for his passion and determination in spearheading the largest challenge events fundraising campaign we have ever undertaken.

In January 2010, Mark’s wife Elise was tragically diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma. After Elise’s diagnosis, she and Mark set up the “Elise for Life” appeal with the aim of raising one million pounds for The Christie. The Christie is the largest cancer centre in Europe, and has been pioneering cancer research breakthroughs for over a century and treating more than 40,000 patients each year. This was a cause obviously close to Mark and Elise’s hearts, and the money that the appeal raised and continues to raise, goes towards funding research into the disease and supporting the clinical trials unit at the hospital.

So when Mark approached us with this mammoth task, we began to work together planning a series of challenge events. The challenges we set up included 4 Great Wall Discovery Challenges in 2011 (which over 100 people fundraised for and took part in), 2 Saigon to Angkor Wat bike rides in 2012 (with a group of over 30), and one Iceland Lava Trek challenge with a dedicated group of 15 fundraisers/trekkers.

 “Mark Roberts is a Champion’s Champion! If every charity could have a Mark Roberts to help recruit participants the world would run out of places to send charity challengers. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Mark, his drive and determination are second to none, but it’s his positivity that’s infectious. I am looking forward to helping him achieve his goal of raising 1 million pounds for The Christie.” Chad Anderson, Charity Challenge Business Development Manager

Elise herself tragically passed away in October 2010, but Mark has continued to work tirelessly to fulfil Elise’s legacy through events and challenges. With lots of helps from friends, relatives and particularly Barclays bank – staff and management – where Elise worked. The Elise for Life campaign is well on its way up.

But the biggest challenge is yet to come. Working with Mark, we are about to embark upon our single largest  series of Charity Challenges, taking 8 separate groups (a total of 240 people) up Mt Kilimanjaro’s Lemosho route.

This specific challenge has a special personal connection for Mark, as Elise herself climbed to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in 2008 with Charity Challenge to raise money for The Christie.

 “She was the toughest, bravest person I’ve ever met, but even she said it was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Let’s make her proud and climb this for her, and for all those brave people just like her, who need our help!” Mark Roberts

Here are some thoughts from those involved in the charity and the campaign:

“Everyone at The Christie is humbled by Mark’s commitment, drive and determination to reach the target he and Elise set out to achieve two years ago.  Mark’s passion and enthusiasm has delivered results that have amazed us all and it was a true privilege to wave off our biggest ever group of overseas trekkers to China last year, all united against cancer in support of Elise and The Christie.  The money raised through Elise for Life enables us to continue to develop our work into malignant melanoma research. The generosity of all those supporting Elise for Life will make such a difference to cancer patients for which we are so grateful.  We are constantly inspired by the hard work and efforts Mark, Deb and all of their supporters put into helping support our cause and look forward to witnessing the emotional but fitting celebration for Elise on the top of Kilimanjaro next year.” 

– QUOTE FROM JENNY HASKEY – The CHRISTIE CHARITY – HEAD OF CORPORATE AND SPORTING EVENTS

“I am taking part in the Kilimanjaro summit climb alongside my brother, as Elise was our cousin and my godmother. As a family we have lost 3 very special people over the past 2 years, all of whom were expertly treated at the Christie, so it means the world to us that so many incredible people are helping Elise to reach her £1million target. Elise was a very special and generous person and she is sorely missed by many; she will always be remembered by us for her amazing smile and our family are extremely proud to have known her.

Whilst the support of so many people has been overwhelming, it is the co-ordination of this support that has been the key to success.  Mark has been unfailing, completely committed and has been the driving force to ensure Elise’s wishes are fulfilled; we have no doubt that Mark will reach the £1million target and we very much look forward to seeing him succeed in doing so.

I don’t think we can ever fully comprehend the impact Mark and Elise’s efforts will have on the lives of others with cancer in the future. They are both truly inspirational and I am so proud of both of them for what they have achieved.”

 – QUOTE FROM RACHEL STEELE- GOD DAUGHTER OF ElISE & PARTICPANT IN THE 2013 KILIMANJARO CHALLENGE

‘It is a privilege to have known Elise and to be able to continue the work that she started with The Christie through Mark Roberts.

So many colleagues and friends here at Barclays have been able to participate in ‘events of a lifetime’ whilst at the same time striving to hit the goal of £1M raised for The Christie and it is perhaps quite fitting that the single event that will enable this target to be smashed, is the climb of Kilimanjaro – something that Elise herself conquered’

 – QUOTE FROM ROB HAWTHORN – BARCLAYS CORPORATE : CLIENT SERVICE DIRECTOR

“I have been inspired to support Mark in the quest that he and Elise set up in July 2010 for a number of reasons.

Elise was a friend and colleague of mine and she showed such a fight and determination through her battle with cancer, it feels so important that we see her wishes to help others that find themselves in the same position that she was in, through to the £1M target andbeyond.

Mark is totally committed to fulfilling Elise’s wishes and he shows the same level of determination in his quest to achieve this today as he did 2 years ago. There have been highs and lows through the last 2 years, but throughout it has been really clear that he will get there, no matter what!

I’ve watched Mark deliver talks to people interested in the Overseas Challenge on numerous occasions and he’s so passionate about what the appeal delivers through The Christie, that regardless of the reason for their interest, whether it be experience of cancer or wanting to take part in a once in a lifetime challenge, he gets them bought in.

I’m delighted to have been part of such a remarkable achievement.”

 – QUOTE FROM DEB BATE – BARCLAYS CORPORATE : SENIOR OPERATIONS MANAGER (who also deserves a special mention as a huge support and an invaluable asset to the “Elise for Life” campaign!)

To learn more about Elise and Mark, and the Elise for Life campaign, please visit the website at www.eliseforlife.org and you can find out more about the amazing cause they are raising money for at the Christie website at www.christie.nhs.uk. If you feel inspired and want to take part in one of these special events, please contact Mark at mark@eliseforlife.org or visit the Elise website.

You can find out more about all the amazing challenges we offer by visiting our website at www.charitychallenge.com.