Having recently trekked to Everest Base Camp and to the summit of Kilimanjaro, planning for a future expedition was curtailed by the COVID pandemic so my thoughts turned to UK challenge where I could raise funds for a good cause.  Having volunteered at the local Salvation Army food bank in Staple Hill since March 2020, it seemed like a good idea to compete in this year's Trekfest challenge covering 25km over the Brecon Beacons and at the same time to raise funds to support the local community.  The local Salvation Army Officer told me:

"The Salvation Army Staple Hill is a local Church and Community Centre based on the edge of Bristol.  We are based in the heart of the local shopping centre and take a full part in all the local events and activities.  Our slogan is Local…Lively….Loving and we seek to share that love in our varied programme and services.  We have a full programme of weekly and seasonal activities catering for people of all ages.  These include clubs for young families and children to enable them to get support when they need it, a lunch club and other activities for older people where they can find friendship and a food store providing parcels and advice for people who are struggling financially.  We are ready to respond to specific need as was evidenced in the pandemic, where we work in partnership with other local agencies to ensure everyone in the local community has the food they need.  Each Christmas we collect and distribute gifts and food hampers to hundreds of families locally and on Christmas Day we provide a whole day of entertainment and food for people who would otherwise be on their own.  As we move out of the pandemic we are looking forward to the future as we develop our programme to meet the current needs."

The work the Salvation Army does is incredible and any donation, small or large, will really make a difference.  Thank you.