Dear Friends,

  It's that time of year, yes, when the Muffin Tops and Man Boobs team has morphed into two new teams: the honed athletes of Bingo Wings & Beer Guts and wanna-be SAS crew, Crack, Back and Rucksack.  As you can see, we have vetoed the more serious names put forward, in order to avoid attracting attention to either ourselves (yeah, right) or to the credit crunch.  This sacrifice all in an attempt to get you to give generously. 

  We will be walking 40 or so miles in two days through beautiful but near vertical Alpine scenery, covering an ascent of over 13000ft.  This is indeed hard work and we shall have only our supreme charm and wit, and schadenfreude at our team-mates’ blisters, to sustain us.

  For those of you for whom our begging bowl is a new phenomenon, Fredericks Foundation is a cause in which we passionately believe. It offers micro-loans to those who, down on their luck and in need of help, could turn their lives around and start a business but are unable to access any other sources of reasonably-priced financing.

  Your donation is not a one-off gift. Fredericks has achieved to date a remarkable 85% repayment rate of all loans, which means that your gift can be recycled into new projects as time goes by, ad infinitum. This model for charitable work is surely the most sustainable one, and gives back people their dignity and self-respect as well as setting shining examples to others in their local communities.

So, please, PLEASE help us achieve and exceed our target this year. We really do appreciate any support you can give, even £5, to help make a real, sustainable difference to someone who is trying to get themselves back on their feet.

  Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Fredericks Foundation will receive your money faster and, if you are ataxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.