Hi folks thank you for taking the time to visit our 'just giving' page!!

Conal and I are dog sledding across the Arctic circle in April 2010.  This is a big deal for us, not only because we are 2 coul riths but because we are undertaking a new challenge beyond our comfort zones!!!  We will be sledding 250km in 5 days from Norway to Sweden in bitterly cold conditions!!!  We have started our training and hope to be in good fitness by April to keep up with the challenging demands of the expedition.

Conal and I have been trying to find something to do for Children in Crossfire for quite a while.  Children in Crossfire is a charity close to our hearts as it was established by my uncle, Richard and having just finished reading his book we have been so inspired and are now extra keen to contribute to the awareness of the charity and to raise money for them.

Children in Crossfire exists to make a significant and lasting contribution towards the eradication of poverty. At the heart of their commitment to tackle poverty is the belief that it is local communities that are most effective.  Therefore Children in Crossfire aim to strengthen the ability of these communities to establish and sustain development initiatives.  For example the development work focused in Tanzania and Ethiopia is making a positive impact on the kids and vulerable children by ensuring access to social services particularly for those with disabilities.

So here comes the big favour!!!! Conal and I are asking you to support the amazing work of Children in Crossfire and encourage us to drive towards this challenge by donating some money.  We ask nothing more than what you can afford and remember anything is GREATLY appreciated.

All our love and Thanks.

Conal and Serla

Just a wee update on how our fundraising has been going.  We've been beavering away behind the scenes and have been doing really well.  People's help and generosity has been overwhelming!!!

In October we had a Dirty Dancing night which was a great success! We watched the classic with everyone having their own quote to make it that bit more interactive - we all at some point felt like Baby being swooned by the hunky Patrick Swayze or like the man himself!!!  This was followed by getting taught some dirty dance moves with us all cha cha chaing round the Nerve Centre feeling like Penny, Jonny or one of the gang! Finally, we finished up the night with some Dirty Dancing themed Karaoke!! Think everyone who attended would say they had The Time of Their Life!!  More importantly the night helped us to raise £400 for the charity!!

We also had a pub quiz at the Errigal Inn, on the Ormeau Road, Belfast.  It was organised by our good friend Stephen McGonagle aka McGunns!!!  The man put a LOT of effort in and it paid off!!! It was an amazing night - everyone has a great night and every team managed to leave with something!! Everybody pulled out all the stops.  The Errigal Inn donated a £20 meal voucher, a token for 6 pints at the bar and had a brilliant meal deal of Pizza and Chips for £10, £5 of which went straight to the cause.  Many companies across Northern Ireland donated over £2,000 worth of Prizes.  We've uploaded some pictures.

We've also had a number of Bag Packing Days at B and M Bargins in Derry showing the people from the town to be consistantly extremely generous!

Other very generous offline donations include:

£300 - Pearse Moore and Tony Doherty at the Nerve Centre

£50 - McDonalds Road

£35 - ONeill family, Ballymena

£100 - Mallett Family,

£100 - Mary Swain, Ayre

£70 - Staff at McGurk and Moore

£25 - Aberfoyle Bed and Breakfast

£25 - Kathleen Edwards, Derry

£20 - Joe and Margaret Watson, Tenerife

 It's great to feel that our friends and families are supporting us in our venture and attempted to promoted the Charity and the work that it does.  We have just a wee bit more to go and any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.