This summer I'm helping Sheffield Students' Union raise £21,000 each for 3 great South Yorkshire charities, by competing against 200 fellow students in a European Treasure Hunt. After meeting my 4 team mates at Brussels station, the aim is to solve a cryptic clue which will send us to an exact location within a European city. Once we've successfully decoded the clue we'll then race against all the other teams to this point - where yet another cryptic clue lies!

After solving the 5th such clue we hopefully won't have got it horribly wrong and instead will be heading towards the final treasure trove - £1000! The first team to arrive at the final destination will be able to claim this as their own, however we've decided to see a bit of each city as we pass by, so we're participating merely to visit some fantastic cities whilst also raising money for some greatly deserved causes.

The three charities are:

1) The Exodus Project in Barnsley, which runs activity clubs targeting kids aged 8 to 15 in disadvantaged communities and aims to divert them from destructive lifestyles, helping them realise their true potential as well as offering day trips and activity week-ends for the young people.

2) Autism Plus, a South Yorkshire charity that provides support for people with autistic spectrum disorders, learning disabilities and mental health difficulties by teaching them independent living skills, helping them into employment or into volunteering opportunities and helping them achieve their dreams and aspirations.

3) The South Yorkshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, was established to provide a range of non-intrusive, drug-free, symptom management and complementary therapies for people suffering with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and similar neurological conditions. It is the only such centre in a thirty mile radius.

I hope you agree that these are brilliant causes, so please dig deep - all money raised will go to these fantastic charities, and non will be funding my week of travelling on trains!!!

Philip