Hello lovely people,

I'm Rachel, and back in July, my brother James and I spent 2 weeks volunteering in the Dominican Republic with a charity called Mission Direct. We had an amazing time getting stuck into various community projects that saw us building houses, painting, playing kids' games, singing, dancing, and generally getting as much out (if not more) than we put in! The end result was that we decided to spend some of our insanely long summer holiday raising more money for a project that particularly touched us whilst volunteering.

All the money we raise from this trek will therefore be going to Nazareth House Children's Home.  This amazing place is run by Sister Mercedes, a nun who single-handedly provides care for 15 physically and mentally disabled children. She lives completely by faith and relies entirely on donations to provide her children with toys and medical supplies. The house which Sister Mercedes shares with the children has also been put up for sale by the landlord, and so money is now needed on top of their living costs so a deposit can be put down for a new place to live (that may hopefully be better adapted to the children's needs).

To raise money, we've challenged ourselves to take on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks. This is the same length as the National 3 Peaks, except without the driving between mountains! The 26-mile route takes on 3 of the highest peaks in the Yorkshire Dales and involves over a mile of ascent, the challenge being to complete the trek in 12 hours (weather/our navigational skills permitting :P ). Quite a task for two people who've spent most of this summer being incredibly lazy...

This is a cause really close to our hearts, and so we would be delighted with any donation, pennies or pounds. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit this JustGiving page :)