The Aim

To raise enough funds to put smiles on the faces of 10 Children :0)

The Challenge

To stand on the top of Mt McKinley and complete No 5 of the 7 Summits

The Charity

You’ve possibly never heard of The Smile Train. Its a charity I came across a few years ago when I saw a campaign by the charity of a small child with a cleft lip before and after simply surgery. It moved me to the point that I donated the cost of one procedure. Those pictures I saw in the advert are included in the four photos above.

Unlike many charities that do many different things, The Smile Train is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate.

Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly. Aren’t allowed to attend school or hold a job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache.

The good news is, every single child with a cleft can be helped with surgery that costs as little as £150.00 and takes as little as 45 minutes.

There mission

To provide free cleft surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries. To provide free cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals. Until there are no more children who need help and we have completely eradicated the problem of clefts.

You can find out more about The Smile Train by visiting http://www.smiletrain.org/

 

The Financial Bit

Each expedition has cost several thousand pounds but unlike some charity events, I am not asking for any contribution towards essential mountaineering equipment / flights / food or anything else. Some of you may think that a donation is financing an adventure/holiday for me, but that's not the case. I'm covering the entire cost of this trip out of my own pocket.

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. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me. The Smile Train gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation. Just giving only take 5% of your donation to pay for credit card costs and to make claims for gift aid. For every £10 you donate, with gift aid claimed, that brings the total to £12.82 with justgiving taking only 64p.

I know times are hard at the moment, but please dig deep – its times like these charities need our help the most.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Warmest regards 

 

Jason

 

The Seven Summits. (in order of climbing)

1. Highest Point in Africa: Mt Kilimanjaro 5892m (19,340ft) Tanzania
    Climbed in 2004 to raise funds for the Australian charity One in Five
2. Highest Point in Australian Mainland: Mt Kosciusko: 2,228m (7,310ft) Australia
    Climbed in 2008 to raise funds for the Nepalese charity Dharmik
3. Highest Point in Europe: Mt Elbrus: 5642m (18,510ft) Russia
    Climbed in 2008 to raise funds for the Nepalese charity Dharmik
4. Highest Point in South America: Mt Acongagua: 6,962m (22,841ft) Argentina
    Climbed in 2009/2010 to raise funds for the charity The Smile Train
5. Highest Point in North America: Mt McKinley: (Denali): 6,194m (20,320ft) USA to raise funds for the charity The Smile Train
    Climbed in June 2010

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The History - For those who might be interested :0)

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. The mountaineering challenge to climb the Seven Summits is traditionally based on either the Bass or the Messner list. (It is assumed that most of the mountaineers who have completed the Seven Summits would have climbed Mont Blanc as well.

Richard Bass, (Dick Bass) a businessman and amateur mountaineer, set himself the goal of climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, including mainland Australia in 1985. Reinhold Messner revised Bass's list by using the broader definition of Oceania and including Carstensz Pyramid rather than Australia's Mount Kosciuszko and completed the list in 1986.