42 Mountains, 80 miles, 8000m, welcome to the Bob Graham Round

Many of you were kind enough to sponsor me back in 2009 when I climbed Kilimanjaro as part of my 50^th “celebrations. My next challenge is a little closer to home and I am attempting a circuit of the Lakeland Mountains know as the Bob Graham Round. This takes in 42 peaks, covers 80 miles and involves over 8,000m of ascent and descent, that is the equivalent of climbing Mt Everest from sea level!

 

I am doing this over the weekend of 10-13 June and I am being joined by my friends from Cumbria, Colin and Liz. We are doing this self supported and paying for all expenses ourselves, therefore any donation you make will go 100% to the Charity I have chosen, Children North East.

 

The reason that Children North East exists is to promote the health, education and development of children, young people and their families. The current priorities are to promote the rights of children and young people and counter the effects of inequality on them, their families and communities.

 

Their services do this by:

 

- Affirming family relationships;

- giving children and young people opportunities that raise aspirations; and

- encouraging community engagement.

 

I have selected one particular project to help, Gateshead Supporting Children.  Children North East runs ‘Friendship Groups’ in 9 Gateshead primary schools. The groups are for children most at risk of social exclusion and they help improve school attendance and overall educational achievement. Children are referred to the groups by their teachers. Children North East staff visit the children and their parents at home to obtain their agreement and also make an important link between the school and home. The groups run for a whole term in school during the school day for 4 to 6 children at a time. I have attended some of these nurture groups and can vouch for the great work they do. Many of the children who take part come from some of the poorest areas in the country and they are right on our doorstep. Many have never been to the seaside, been on holiday and some of them have never been on a Metro.

 

Your donation can make a difference and as an example:

·         £ 10.00 Pays for children in homeless accommodation to have fun making pizzas.

·         £ 15.00 Pays for craft materials for disadvantaged children in a school 'friendship group'.

·         £ 20.00 Pays for a trip to the seaside for a child who has never seen the sea.

So please be generous, give what you can and be assured every pound you give really does make a difference to children living in your own backyard