<p>In February 2011 I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.&nbsp; I will be attempting to reach the summit through the Rongai route. My worries of altitude sickness and physical exhaustion pale in comparison to those who are supported by the charity I shall be raising money for.&nbsp; I would be so grateful for your sponsorship, even the smallest donation can make a big difference.&nbsp; Thank you so much.</p> <p>Vicky xx</p> <div class="intro"> <p>The Soldiers&rsquo; Charity (The Army Benevolent Fund)&nbsp;give lifetime support to serving and retired soldiers and their families. They risk so much for us, but for them, it&rsquo;s just doing their job.</p> </div> <p>In return,&nbsp;they provide financial assistance when they are in real need. That&rsquo;s what the charity has been here to offer for 66 years.</p> <p>There has been a &nbsp;<strong>30% rise over the past two years</strong> in applications from soldiers who have taken part in previous and current conflicts and&nbsp;they currently raise &pound;7 million a year to meet this need.</p> <p>As a result of Current Operations it is anticipated that the requests for assistance will rise significantly in the coming years. It is the aim of The Soldiers&rsquo; Charity to increase fundraising to <strong>&pound;14 million a year by 2015</strong> to be sure that we can help each and every soldier that needs our help.</p> <p>Even when a soldier leaves the Army the charity still sees them as part of their family and eligible for their help. The scope of&nbsp;their work is huge. Half of their money is given direct to individuals to help in areas such as debt relief, mobility assistance, education bursaries, carehome fees and respite breaks. The other half is given as grants to other charities.</p> <p>Take a look at the link to see how the soldiers are helped:</p> <p><a href="http://www.soldierscharity.org/how-we-help/">http://www.soldierscharity.org/how-we-help/</a></p> <p>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;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&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p>