Thank you for visiting my Kilimanjaro Challenge fundraising page!

--- Check out the updates at the bottom of the page ---

My Personal Challenge…
Through my work at Accenture, I learned about VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) and I decided to volunteer for the Accenture Kilimanjaro Challenge 2008. VSO is the largest independent charity in the world, working through volunteers. Volunteers work in over 30 countries, in the poorest regions of the world, sharing their professional skills and experience with local people. As part of the challenge I will this summer ascend on a 7 day trek to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's highest freestanding, snow-covered mountain and the highest point in Africa at 5,895 meters! This trip is very meaningful for me, as I will be undertaking a personal challenge (climbing Kilimanjaro), while raising funds and awareness that are desperately needed to tackle Africa’s problems.

How you can help….
VSO organizes challenges such as this Kilimanjaro trek to increase their available funds and enable them to continue their work throughout the world. Fundraising is fundamental to the work of VSO. The money raised for VSO goes directly towards recruiting, training, and sending volunteers to countries, where they can share their skills and help to change people's lives. A long with 30 of my fellow Accenture colleagues, I have pledged to raise £1750 (about €2300) to support VSO work in Eastern Africa... and I cannot reach this fundraising target without your support.

What you can help to achieve…
Here are some examples how the money donated will help volunteers fight poverty in disadvantaged countries:
- £5 (€7): supports a VSO volunteer management specialist living and working in Papua New Guinea for a day
- £50 (€70): provides HIV and AIDS training for a VSO volunteer to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS in local communities throughout Zambia.
- £100 (€135): helps support a VSO volunteer pediatrician for a month
- £250 (€335): helps a VSO volunteer to train 20 local teachers in special teaching methods and in the management of Special Needs Units in Kenya in order to support children with disabilities.
- £1000 (€1350): helps to fund a community-initiated project in The Gambia that, with the support of a VSO volunteer, could help to set up small enterprises run by local communities.

Giving is simple and secure….
All donations are secure and sent electronically to the VSO charity. This way you will be helping people in countries without the stability of a health and education system that we take for granted. Your money is a 100% donation, please dig deep!  If you are an UK taxpayer, Justgiving will add an automatic 28% bonus to your donation at no cost to you. Please join me in supporting VSO and a fabulous cause!

Many thanks for your support in advance!

Best Wishes,
Max

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Please Note
100% of the money raised through this page will support VSO projects in disadvantaged countries. Your donation will NOT fund my trip to Kilimanjaro (i.e. equipment, flights, fees, etc.). I'm covering all of these costs.

Currency Converter
Please keep in mind the currency conversion - donations are in British pounds. Here is a link to a currency converter: http://finance.yahoo.com/

Information on Voluntary Service Overseas
For additional information on VSO, please visit: http://www.vso.org.uk/about/

VSO Activities in Tanzania
For information about VSO activities in Tanzania, please visit: http://www.vso.org.uk/accentureglobalkilimanjaro/2008/about_vso_in_country.htm

Accenture Kilimanjaro Challenge
For additional information on the challenge, please visit: http://www.vso.org.uk/accentureglobalkilimanjaro/2008/index.htm


--- Status Updates ---

2008-04-01
Thanks to everyone for helping me reach almost 70% of my goal! It has been great to see the "fundraising thermometer" rising over the past few weeks...and I'm looking forward to seeing that red bar expanding further to the right!

As many people asked for it, I promise to upload the (hopefully beautiful) photos of the trip to my website (www.xkoestner.de) once I returned from Africa in July.

2008-03-09
We are making progress here - 40% of the fundraising target has been achieved. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the fundraising so far! 
 
On a side note, my college book sale is well under way, however there are still some books up for sales. Here are three highlights:

1) Principles of Corporate Finance (Behzad Razavi, Richard A. Brealey, Stewart C. Myers) --> http://www.amazon.de

2) Competing on Analytics. The New Science of Winning (Thomas H. Davenport, Jeanne G. Harris) --> http://www.amazon.de

3) Basic Business Statistics: Concepts and Applications (L. Berenson, Timothy C. Krehbiel) --> http://www.amazon.de