Inspiration

The Charity Challenge Epic Cross-Train-A-Thon Challenge! So it begins…

March 27, 2012

The Charity Challenge Epic Cross-Train-A-Thon!!

So, as our two groups of intrepid North Pole explorers set off within the next two weeks, we at Charity Challenge have decided to set ourselves a challenge of our own, in aid of the fantastic charity Sport Relief.

The distance that these Challengers travel in their quest to reach the northern-most tip of the world is roughly 68 miles. This includes pulling tons of food and equipment behind them on a sledge, battling the extreme conditions and taking their chances against the elements. Short of setting up a fan and a snow-machine in the office, there isn’t much we can do to replicate these circumstances. But we are going to try and make the 60 miles on our office Cross-Trainer, which is the closest thing we can get to actual skis!

Today is the big day, and already Sharmee has got us off to a great start. The cross-training machine has been kindly donated to us by our Hire Fitness, who also supplied Denise Van Outen and Lydia Bright with their equipment for their recent “Essex2India” Rajasthan Cycle challenge!

We will be keeping you updated on our progress throughout the day on Facebook and Twitter, but if you want to donate to a really excellent cause and make a difference to thousands of families across UK and the rest of the world, then please find our JustGiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/charitychallengeskitonorthpole.

We going to try really hard to smash our target, cross-training non-stop from 9-5.30pm, but every donation keeps our morale up and spirits high. A massive THANK YOU to all those who have already donated and brought us up past the £500 mark!!

And if our humble attempt has inspired you to take on the real thing, you can find out more information on dates, costs and itinerary for the North Pole expedition here.

Challenges, Responsible Tourism

Responsible Tourism in Morocco With Charity Challenge

March 26, 2012

We currently run two challenges in Morocco, The High Atlas Summit Trek and the Sahara desert trek, and it’s a very rare challenger who doesn’t fall in love with the vibrant culture and panoramic landscapes of Morocco. So we wanted to give all our past, present and future Morocco challengers a bit more information as to on where their $20 local community donation goes and what a huge difference it makes.

In Morocco, we give your donations to the wonderful SOS Children’s villages, who help us to make sure the money is channelled to those that really need it; SOS Children cares for vulnerable children affected by poverty, disease, conflict, and natural disasters.  They provide orphans and abandoned children with a loving home and a family for life in their SOS Children’s Villages. They also provide support to families at risk of fragmentation in an effort to reduce instances of child abandonment and neglect.

In Morocco they have a village like this in Ait-Ourir, about 40km from Marrakesh at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, a place we actually drive past when on our way to High Atlas. The village was set up in 1985 to provide help for the communities living in the mountain villages and also from those living in the toughest areas of Marrakech. The village in Ait-Ourir has 14 family houses and provides protection for many orphaned and abandoned children from the area. It is a place where the children never need to fear that they will be thrown out and somewhere where they will receive continued support right the way into their adult lives. One of the most exciting things about the village is that, thanks to donations such as those from our participants, they can also provide the children with an education.

Education is a basic human right, but unfortunately there are still many places where access to education is a privilege – even though education is vital for breaking the vicious circle of poverty and goes hand in hand with development.

An SOS Nursery School and an SOS School also form part of the SOS Children’s Village in Ait Ourir, and are among the reasons why we are so proud of this project. The nursery, as with all SOS Children’s Villages, is also attended by children from the surrounding area, meaning, that those children growing up in the rural villages surrounding Ait Ourir are given a better start in life. In Marrakesh itself, there are also five SOS Youth Homes that are home to the older children, and aids them in making the transition from family life to independence, under the guidance of a youth leader.

We’re very proud to be supporting such a fantastic cause and making a real difference to the lives of many young people in the areas where we trek, and this is something that we couldn’t do without you, our fantastic participants, both past and present. So next time you are out training for your challenge in Morocco, reminiscing with your photo album, or thinking about the amazing funds you raised/are raising for your chosen charity, we hope you will also be proud of and  spare a thought for those in Morocco whose lives you have changed. A huge THANK YOU to you all!

To learn more about all our charity challenges, and find out how else we get involved with responsible tourism. Please visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com, and to keep up to date on all our challenge news, 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.

Inspiration, Responsible Tourism

World Water Day

March 22, 2012

We’ve heard about a very good cause that we thought we would post up on here for you all to get involved with – World Water Day. Which just happens to be today!

World Water day has been celebrated on the 22nd March ever since 1993 and is organised by the United Nations. It is the one day of the year when all UN member nations and NGO’s from around the world get together to discuss issues concerning world water resources and countries can speak frankly on water issues that specifically affect their regions and discuss how these can be resolved. On the 22nd March the day is entirely devoted to this subject.

The day is used by Charities and the World Water Council to highlight many problems around water we have at the moment. For example did you know that a billion people at the moment are living without access to any safe drinking water? The day aims to highlight these terrible facts to us all.

So what can we do to help – well the UN suggests the following;

  1. Stop wasting food and drink; did you know that 30% of the food we produce is wasted? That’s 1.3 billion tonnes a year of food and packaging that could have been put to a better use.
  2. Get a healthier diet; Did you know that an unhealthy diet is also a source of waste? Swapping to healthier, less processed and less packaged food you will be limiting waste packaging and reducing impacts on water.
  3. Try to eat and drink sustainably; a sustainable diet with organic or locally produced food will usually have a smaller water foot print and tends to lead to a healthier diet anyway.
  4. Get involved with protecting our forests; forests reduce the affects of flooding, droughts, prevent soil erosion, landslides and desertification. So if you know of a tree replanting project nearby or of a campaign to save a local forest – get involved!
  5. Try to reuse and recycle water at home; pop left over drinking water back in the kettle for tea, collect rain water to water your indoor plants and make sure taps are always fully turned off – there are many things you can do to make sure you are using water effectively.
  6. Don’t forget; there is also plenty you can do whilst you are away on a challenge, making sure that you don’t have your towels changed each day, keeping showers to a minimum in countries where you know water supply is a real issue etc.

In short there is lot that we can do and lots that we can learn, I know we here at Charity Challenge are open for picking up a few hints and tips and are looking forward to celebrating World Water Day!

For more information about how to get involved please go to; http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/

To learn more about all our charity challenges, and how else we get involved with responsible tourism. Please visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com, and to keep up to date on all our challenge news, 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

Charity Challenge of the Week: The Rajasthan Tiger Challenge

March 21, 2012

Denise Van Outen and Lydia Bright last Thursday completed their epic cycle challenge, cycling 430kms through Rajasthan, Land of the Kings. Despite the limb numbing nature of the challenge, the Essex Girls had only good things to say/tweet about their Indian Escapade!

“Just finished our 485km cycling challenge around India Bst experience of my life Ill never forget…a dream” – Lydia

“I would also like to thank @charitychall for making this trip possible. You never let me down! Best experience of my life” – Denise

We’re glad they liked it! And we’re really pleased to see that, inspired by Denise and Lydia’s fantastic effort, more and more people are taking an interest in the challenge and are keen to follow in their glamorous Essex footsteps. So if you think an Indian cycling adventure might be for you, keep reading!

The first day of our Rajasthan Tiger Challenge begins in the hustling bustling capital of Delhi, where you have a chance to soak up the atmosphere and explore it’s labyrinth of streets and markets, crowded with exotic produce and a bewildering mix of people. Journeying on to Agra, the cultural exploration of India continues with a visit to the Taj Mahal, one of the most awe inspiring and extravagant monuments ever built. The serenity of the Taj Mahal is just the peaceful interlude needed before the real hard work begins!

Starting from Taj Mahal, the serene and classical Indian vision quickly becomes the wildest dream of a Mountain Biker, as the roads terrain turns from tarmac stretches, to country lanes to smaller more pothole ridden dirt tracks.

As days pass, the sheer variety of Rajasthan’s roads is matched only by the beautiful and imposing nature of its landscapes. Your eyes can’t help but stray from the road as you cycle through dramatic desert landscape, lively cities, tranquil country-side and old forts seemingly frozen in time.

On day 7 the roads and backdrop take a backseat to the spectacular array of Indian Wildlife that make their home in Ranthambore National Park. As your journey takes a meandering route through the park, keep your eyes peeled for sambas, cheetahs, wild boars, leopards, sloth bears, jackals, hyena and of course the eponymous and majestic Tigers, the namesake and symbol of this challenge!

On day 9, you’re forced dig real deep for the final 80km stretch from Bhanderej to Jaipur. For many these final few hours are turbulent, as emotionally and physically you’re spent, but glimpse of villages and locals waving to you in support spur you onwards on road to Jaipur. And what more jubilant place to celebrate the victorious end of the challenge than “the pink city”. Jaipur is  Rajasthan’s vibrant metropolitan capital, where colours, cultures and seemingly traffic combine as vegetable laden camel carts thread their way through the streets jam-packed with rickshaws, bicycles, tempos, motorcycles and traffic dodging pedestrians! If you’ve got the energy, there’s plenty to do in Jaipur, there’s lot of beautiful and historic sights to be seen or you can take a leaf out of Denise and Lydia book and hit the shops!

So if you’ve been inspired and want to take part in one of our Rajasthan Tiger Challenges, please click here to see all our available departure dates, and click on the date you’re interested in to see the itinerary, costs, kit lists, and much more!

This month, in honour of Lydia and Denise epic challenge, we’ve also got a £50 discount on our Fri 15 February 2013 challenge, check it out here!

You can also click here to see a Lydia and Denise Essex eye view of the challenge, and watch this amazing video that was filmed on location in Rajasthan last year.

To learn more about all our challenge, please visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com, and to keep up to date on all our challenge news, 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.

Inspiration

100 years on from Captain Scott!

March 7, 2012

Here at Charity Challenge we thought we had a lot to pack ahead of the forthcoming expeditions to the North Pole later this month. Our team have been busy making up dozens of crates and hundreds of kilos of chocolate and freeze dried meals and soups, and packing up group equipment, including sledges, tents, clothing, ropes and skis. But this is the Twenty First Century and thanks to the advances of modern aviation and cutting edge polar technology, the preparations should run relatively smoothly.

And if we weren’t already aware of that, a recent trip to the Natural History Museum proved to us at Charity Challenge that we have nothing to complain about. Scott’s Last Expedition offers a fascinating insight into the explorer’s doomed journey to become the first man to reach the South Pole 100 years ago. They had to pack literally tonnes of equipment, horses, dogs, scientific equipment, and so on for a three year expedition, including even the building materials for their “hut” on the ice for the duration of the expedition.

The exhibition, which runs until September, promises to go beyond the familiar tales of Scott’s three-year journey to the South Pole (1910-1913) and it doesn’t disappoint. The focus is on the everyday stories and activities of the people who took part, their scientific work and unforgettable human endurance.

Visitors can easily spend a couple of hours in the exhibition, reading about everything from the mammoth task of planning the trip to the heart wrenching words of Scott’s final diary entries.

In planning the Terra Nova expedition, Scott had to approach dozens of sponsors who he hoped would help fund the trip. Some lent financial support, while others provided some of the many tonnes of provisions that were loaded on board for the epic trip.

The exhibition then moves into a reconstruction of the hut where Scott and his men lived for much of their time in this inhospitable part of the world. Once inside, you get to see exactly where the men slept, ate and passed the many days that they spent there.

In most people’s minds, Scott is known as being the ultimate explorer, but perhaps what is less well known is just how much scientific research was done while the men were away. The ambitious programme covered a broad range of specialisms including meteorology, zoology and geography. The exhibition features a lot of this work and emphasizes the significance of the discoveries made, even to this day.

Had Scott lived to tell his tale, his experience would have still been overshadowed by the success of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who beat the British team to the Pole by a month. Curators have compared the two missions, highlighting what might have made the Norwegian efforts more successful.

This extremely moving exhibition, which marks the centenary of Scott reaching the pole and his tragic death, features over 200 rare specimens and original artefacts. Many items, such as clothing, skis, food, tools and diaries are being shown together for the first time.

Simon Albert, director of Charity Challenge, said: “I had the pleasure of visiting the Natural History Museum exhibition last week about Captain Scott and his final Antarctic expedition that took place 100 years ago. It was absolutely fascinating and has totally hooked me in. I can’t stop reading about it now and I just wanted to strongly recommend it to anyone interested in adventure and exploration.”

To find out more or to book a ticket, visit www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/scott-last-expedition/index.html

Click here to for learn more about our very own North Pole Challenge, and to keep up to date on all our challenge news, 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.

Inspiration

Happy 40th Birthday to Charity Challenge Director Simon Albert!

February 24, 2012

Happy Birthday to Charity Challenge Director Simon Albert, who is celebrating turning 40 today. In his honour, we have decided to take some time out to look back on some of his amazing achievements both in business and in life;

Few people have experienced the world as much as Simon has, not only has he summited Mt Kilimanjaro, Trekked in the Himalayas and scuba dived with sharks in Fiji, he has also  journeyed throughout the Far East, Australasia and Pacific Islands, motor-biked through Vietnam (before Ewan Mcgregor and Charley Boorman made it cool!), helped to build a youth hostel in Thailand,  went white water rafting on the Kali Gandaki in Nepal and helped build a road on Mana Island (which was and still is hereafter known as ‘Simon Avenue’).

In October 1998, Inspired by all his adventures, Simon decided to set up his own company that helps people have their very own adventures of a life-time, whilst raising money for charity. SmallWorld Adventures Ltd (soon to be known as Charity Challenge) started making waves and Simon quickly became known in the industry for his infectious energy and enthusiasm and his strict uniform of checked shirts, jeans and trainers.

In February 2009 Simon played an instrumental part in organising the Comic Relief Celebrity Kilimanjaro Climb, which saw several well-known faces such as Gary Barlow,  Cheryl  Cole and Chris Moyles summit Mt Kilimanjaro and raise over a whopping  £3.35million for comic relief! This was a massive game changer for Charity Challenge and since then it has gone from strength to strength! Charity Challenge has now helped thousands of people to raise over £30m for over 1200 different charities and our portfolio currently includes treks, bike rides, mountain climbs, rafting, sky diving, dog sledding, skiing and community challenges in more than 30 countries worldwide as well as two ground-breaking treks to geographic North and South Poles.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Simon’s vibrant enigmatic personality, drive to push the company forward and his passion for travel. Simon’s 40th Birthday has coincided with a very exciting and busy time for Charity Challenge, as (after a lot of hard work!) Charity Challenge has now launched a new operation out of Toronto, Canada for the North American market! Which we have very high hopes for!

So after 40 years of life and  12 years of Charity Challenge, Simon has become a recognised and respected face in the Adventure Charity Travel industry, his contribution to which was even honoured by her majesty the Queen herself last year at the Royal Celebration of British Adventure, but to all of us in the office, we’re always know him best for his infamous collection of checked shirts, bad taste in music and strange preference teas which are milky beyond belief!