Raleigh fundraising

Clever fund raising can get you a long way!

2012-01-10T02:34:00.000-08:00

Volunteering does not need to break your bank, as Bev Taylor found out. She managed to raise the full £2995 to go on expedition to Borneo.

She did a 26 mile hike, which she raised sponsorships for and she held a raffle. For the raffle prizes she contacted local businesses to donate prizes and she managed to fundraise the whole amount.

She says “Clever fund raising can get you a long way!"

During her expedition, her favourite moment on expedition was being involved with a project that built a bridge across a river, which would allow scientists to explore unseen areas of the rainforest.

28 Mile Walk in December!

2011-12-21T02:17:00.000-08:00

Reece Wilson, 17 from Cottingham, walked 28 miles from Hull to Spurn Hill on December 12th to raise £2000 to fund his Raleigh International expedition to India in March 2012. So far he has raised £243 on his Justgiving page.

While in India, Reece will be working on infrastructure and sanitation projects, supplying toilets to the Malligalli village. Within this village there are 250 families and of these 15 families have a toilet. The lack of adequate sanitation is a major problem in Malligalli because this affects the local water supply and therefore has an adverse effect on the health on the local community.

If you would like to sponsor Reece: http://www.justgiving.com/Reece4Raleigh.

The Blindfolded Marathon

2011-11-23T02:21:00.000-08:00

Tim Lok Chen Haw, 19, ran the Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon with his eyes blindfolded!

Lok is not blind — he covered his eyes with cloth to highlight glaucoma, an eye disorder of the optic nerve which is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.

He was raising money for his Raleigh expedition in Borneo in 2012 and the Malaysia Glaucoma Society.

With the help of a few 'guides' to ensure he stayed on route, he completed the marathon in a fantastic five hours and 40 minutes.

So far Lok has raised RM3,000 with the aim of reaching RM20,000 through his inspiring marathon.

Thanks Tom!

2011-11-18T05:09:00.000-08:00

We would like to say a big thank you to Tom Williams, a Raleigh alumni, who has raised £700 for us to build bio-gas units in India by driving a Fiat Punto he bought for £45 through Europe. This 53% of his £1400 fundraising target.

Raleigh International has built 15 bio-gas units in the Nilgiri district in south India and has supplied sustainable energy to local communities, which reduces the impact of firewood consumption. Methane from cows is captured and stored for gas cooking, as a sustainable source. An additional by-product of bio-gas units is the milk produced by the cow which can be sold on and an income is produced.

If you would like to contribute to Tom’s bio-gas fundraising please go to: www.charitygiving.co.uk/tomwilliams.

Prehistoric Fun-draising on the Jurassic Coast Walk

2011-10-26T01:27:00.000-07:00

On the weekend of October 8-9 a group of 55, made up of Raleigh alumni, future venturers and VMs, and Raleigh staff headed out to the UK’s historic south coast to undertake a 50 km 2-day long trek from Weymouth to Lyme Regis.

With the sun mostly on our faces and the wind occasionally at our backs, we walked along the coastal path, reminiscing about expeditions, catching up on life post-Raleigh, filling in to-be venturers and VMs on some essential tips, breaking out tents and roll mats, and most importantly, fundraising.

All the alumni were participating to raise money for the Raleigh International Bursary Award which financially supports those for whom a Raleigh expedition would otherwise only be a dream. They were able to raise enough for 2 people to be given bursaries in 2012! The future venturers and VMs joined to help boost their own fundraising for expedition, and many are now within reach of their fundraising targets.

If you missed out on participating this time around, be sure to watch the Raleigh International website and Facebook page for updates on what is to come in 2012. We hope to see you there!

The whole group with Richard Drax, MP, who officially started the walk:

Fundraising with Alexander!

2011-10-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

Alexander Clarke from Loughborough went on expedition to India this summer and wanted to share some of his fundraising efforts with us here on our fundraising blog – which he found invaluable when planning his fundraising. This is his advice:

I found out that I was going on expedition to India just three months before my departure date, so I had little time to plan my fundraising to reach my target. I was very keen to do a physical challenge in preparation for my expedition and I chose to participate in my local 10k run, which was a big challenge for me as I had shown no prior interest in running before. I asked for sponsorship for the run from my friends and family Additionally, I attended a few village fetes where I organised charity raffles with some great prizes very kindly donated from local businesses. The top prize was a full day for two people at a local spa resort!

This ia Alexander at his charity raffle at a village fete.

I came up with my fundraising ideas after looking on the Raleigh International website, where there were some really inspiring ideas. Also I felt less daunted by my fundraising target after I read about other people’s fundraising activities and how they reached their target. I planned my fundraising activities to ensure I could inform people about Raleigh International, especially at the village fete where I would reach an audience that may never have heard about Raleigh before. It was a great way to network too - I met a lady who suggested that I should contact the charity she worked for asking for a donation. As a result they gave me a donation that contributed towards my fundraising target.

I not only achieved my fundraising goal but also gained some new skills that I can apply to my future career such as organisational and communication skills. I found I got a great response to my fundraising and everybody I spoke to seemed interested in my expedition to India. They were willing to help however they could, whether through advice, a donation or a prize for the raffle.

My fundraising efforts really paid off as I have just got back from an amazing time in India. My favourite moment was during the community phase in Kotapadi, where we were in groups of threes building toilets for the local community. This was to improve the health and sanitation of the people living in this community. I felt that I got to know the other two people really well as we were working alongside each other and we made fantastic progress. The lady’s house we were working on, Krishnaveni, invited us in for Chai and showed us her wedding album, even though we did not share the same language it was a unique moment. It was moments like that that made the community phase so special and different to other two phases with Raleigh.

My tips for any budding fundraisers out there are:
• Always have your Raleigh T-shirt and some info about what you’re doing with Raleigh.
• Always carried business cards with a link to your JustGiving page and more information about Raleigh.
• Always keep friends & family updated about your situation. I would keep everyone updated about my fundraising progress through Facebook & Twitter.
• I also tried to be creative with the updates I sent out, I made a video montage of myself training www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdT40f86RfE.
• Ask friends & family for help. I was amazed at how much my friends and family helped me with my fundraising.
• Be organised.
• And lastly enjoy it! It's going to be hard, challenging at times, but I actually really enjoyed telling people about what I was going to do.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed fundraising and I felt that it got me into the Raleigh spirit ready for my expedition to India!

Wacky Fundraiser Champion!

2011-09-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

In order to raise funds for her Raleigh International expedition to Borneo in the spring, Rachel Magnus had a very original – and wacky idea. She decided to gain sponsorship to dress up as a banana and visit all of London’s famous landmarks. This outlandish idea was voted Wackiest Fundraiser by everyone here at Raleigh International HQ and on our Facebook page!

She came up with the idea after a long brain storming session as she was keen to come up with a fundraising idea that would be both lucrative and fun. Dressing up as a banana and visiting all of London’s landmarks was a great idea as it was cheap to organise and would generate a lot of interest because it was such an unusual fundraising activity.

Rachel had a great time during her time as a banana in London. She found that her friends and family were all interested in why she was doing it, because it is not something you see every day, and therefore helped spread Raleigh International’s good name.

The day was a huge success, raising about £900 from sponsorships from her friends and family. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to use collection boxes during the day as she did not have a permit.

Rachel really loved her expedition to Borneo and she would definitely go again
“It's a great challenge, you experience a completely different culture, you see that you really are helping the communities out there, and you make such great friends. “

Her favourite memory is a party that the locals held for all the volunteers on their last night on phase in Kudat on the beach where they presented us all with a necklace which they had been personally made for them. She said that it was a special experience and one she will never forget.

Hannah’s advice for any budding fundraisers? You can literally do anything, nothing is too crazy! If you are stuck for cash, think of doing something that you may do on a day-to-day basis anyway but spice it up in some way - like Rachel did by dressing up as a banana. Also, Rachel recommends contacting your old schools or local communities to see if you can hold a bake sale for instance as they can be very supportive.

I hope Rachel’s fundraising exploits help to inspire future fundraisers who are stuck for ideas!!

Please check out our fundraising page on our website for more information: http://www.raleighinternational.org/our-expeditions/aged-17-24/how-do-i-raise-the-money

Volunteer attempts to forward-roll over seven bridges

2011-09-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

We've heard of some innovative fundraising ideas here at Raleigh International but we have been particularly impressed by the most recent idea from Ed Gregory, a volunteer manager for this autumn’s expedition in Borneo. He is planning to forward-roll across the seven bridges of Sydney! That’s 2.7km of forward rolls on concrete in one day!

On Saturday, 10th September 2011, he will forward-roll over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Pyrmont Bridge, Anzac Bridge, Fig Tree Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge, Gladesville Bridge and Iron Cove Bridge. This is something that has never been attempted before so as well as raising money for a good cause, Ed will also be breaking a world record!

Ed, 28, will be volunteering for Raleigh International as a project manager. His role will include leading a volunteer project in a rural community in Borneo whilst also managing groups of young people in a cross-cultural environment.

He said: “I came up with seven bridges challenge to raise money to directly fund a charity expedition in Borneo in just a few weeks. I will be giving Raleigh International 10 weeks of my life to work on projects like building rainwater filtration systems, building a conservation park as well as working with local communities on education.”

Ed is a professional actor from Australia and has spent much of the last four years working for the internationally acclaimed Blue Man Group in their Broadway show New York as well as touring in Europe and the Caribbean. He is currently taking an eight month career break to travel and follow his other passions - the environment and charity work.

How far can you cycle?

2011-03-31T01:35:00.000-07:00

I remember the day when I heard I was accepted as a volunteer manager at Raleigh. It's just incredible. I'd heard that it was hard to get into international development so I was grateful and more or less amazed to hear that I got in. They even told me I was more than qualified! I was ready to make the most of the opportunity.

Here’s a little about myself. My name is Joe Arthurs, British, and I have just decided to have another career change. I had been working in finance when I decided to retrain as a carpenter. I wanted something more fulfilling. However, I found that this still wasn’t enough and I decided to move into the not for profit sector. I started to volunteer and work part time at a few different charities. For me it felt like I needed a positive change. I never went on a gap year and I had the urge to travel – I’ve always wanted to go away but I wanted to find an organisation that I cared about to get the most out of it.

Whilst being on a Positive Change seminar, I heard about Raleigh for the first time. I met some amazing characters and heard some unbelievable stories. Raleigh seemed like the perfect opportunity. It covered leadership and working with young people.

Right, enough about this and let me talk about the next step, the reason why this blog exists: to do the actual fundraising to cover the costs to go on a Raleigh expedition. Although it’s still far away (my expedition will be in autumn 2012), I’ve decided to start thinking about it right away. You know what my very first thoughts were? My friends and family have no money. So what am I going to do?! Because it’s so far away, some of my friends have agreed to donate £5 a month between now and then. I’ve got a house party one weekend where some bands will be playing and I will be using this as a way to fundraise more. It’s quite hard though, because I’ve been so busy. I did some fundraising in the past, although this was quite minimal. I’ve raised awareness for some charities but done very little fundraising. My fundraising target is £10,000 because I want to give as much as possible to Raleigh – it’s such a good cause. So far I’ve raised about £200 so I’ve got a long way to go!

Then I came up with a new idea. To some ears it might sound like a crazy idea, something you would never think of straight away. Yes, I’m going to cycle all the way to South Korea!

In the space of a month I was made redundant, split up with my girlfriend and had to move out of my flat. I thought ‘I’m a free man’ so I should go for it! The idea spiralled out of control. Originally I was planning to go to Mongolia with some friends but now that’s not worked out so I’m heading to South Korea where I plan to teach secondary school children English before I start Raleigh.

So this is my plan: I will start my journey in April 2011 and it will take me 12 months to get to South Korea. I plan to travel through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, South East Asia, Nepal and China (where I’m hoping to meet up with Raleigh China) before settling in South Korea. This may of course change depending on visas and other entry requirements. I’ve been advised not to plan too far ahead but just to take one day at a time. I’ve bought all the kit (25kg) that I need but to be honest I have done very little training. I’m not planning on setting a world record!

During my journey I’ll be doing some couch surfing. I’ve got a few friends enroute, mainly in Europe, that I’ll be calling on. I will also be carrying some camping equipment with me too.

Since I will be leaving quite soon I have planned to work as much as I can and basically save money. I want to do as much fundraising as possible before I leave, however I will continue the fundraising whilst on my journey. During my last days in country I will say goodbye to my family and friends. There’s a lot to organise! I will keep everyone up to date by sending regular emails and keeping in touch with Raleigh all along the way. I will probably send out some nice videos of my cycle journey as well!

Looking back at the moment when I heard I was accepted as a volunteer manager up until now, I can tell you that I’m already having an amazing time. For everyone out there that is struggling with fundraising: just go for it! Ignore the fact that you are asking for money. If it’s a cause that you believe in, then people will be happy to donate. You can make things happen.

If you’d like to know more, follow my blog, donate (any donations are more than appreciated!) or just want to visit my fundraising page go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/seoulsearchin/

Central American Themed Art Session Fundraiser

2010-12-09T03:15:00.000-08:00

When I found out that I was accepted for the Spring Expedition to Costa Rica & Nicaragua, as well as achieving the Graduate Bursary Award, this gave me a great feeling of accomplishment. However, I had not quite reached my end goal with the next challenge being the fundraising.

I have fundraised for numerous organisations such as Oxfam, Cancer Research, The Anthony Nolan Trust and other local groups. However, advertising to others to help fund my expedition brought some scepticism, as many weren’t convinced that their money would genuinely go towards a good cause.

My thoughts were ‘how can I make others understand that my commitments are truly to help others and emphasise that this expedition was NOT A HOLIDAY!’

On first instance, I contacted my previous educational establishments with a covering letter suggesting an offered service supported by a personal leaflet. The latter was aimed to capture the attention of the reader by providing a summary of my efforts.

Consequently I was contacted by my previous high school, Harvington School, where I was Head Girl in 2003 and which has now converted solely into a preparatory school. I offered to provide a Costa Rica & Nicaraguan art session for the pupils and in return they would hold a non-uniform day to raise some funds. The inspiration for this idea was due to my awe of the colourful artwork from Central America and I needed to provide a fun activity to cater for the young students.

On 24th November 2010, I prepared a PowerPoint Presentation for the morning assembly so the children could understand the purpose of my visit. Using the much loved cartoon characters, Handy Manny and Dora the Explorer, I explained the details of my expedition making statements such as ‘like Manny I will be building things’ and ‘like the inquisitive Dora I will be learning a new culture’.

Later in the day, I hosted three art sessions for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, with great emphasis on shapes and bright colours as the theme. Using my own art work as examples, I demonstrated how to get a similar look with poster paints. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves as they expressed their creative side during the art sessions and overall appreciated the need to help others especially those less fortunate than them.

My local paper, the Gazette, covered this particular fundraising venture. The article enabled others to understand the extent of my passion, and possibly encourage donations to help reach my offline target by contacting me via email (jakhyarahman@hotmail.com).

Fundraising bike ride

2010-11-25T04:22:00.000-08:00

So, it was about 8 weeks ago when I started to think of ideas to raise money for my 13 week volunteer manager placement to Costa Rica. Various ideas were thrown in the pot and vetoed, however one theme remained consistent between all of them; and that was cycling.

In June of this year myself and 3 friends cycled 2500km from Stockhom to London in 21 days, to raise money for Sustrans a well known sustainability charity. Alas, I thought it would be good to try and use a bit of this fitness for another challenge. My original idea of cycling for 24 hours solid was quickly ruled out by a friend of mine, who amongst other things said that not only was the idea stupid but incredibly dangerous for my health. A fair point, seeing as just staying awake for 24 hours is hard enough, let along cycling for a full day!

I eventually settled for a cycle challenge of a 10 hour solid ride. It would take place on the well established 7 mile loop around Richmond Park, thus allowing friends to come along and join in for a lap or two if they so chose to keep me company. The preparation went well; not enough training, a mountain of work commitments enough to snow under an Eskimo, and the dreaded (and life threatening I might add) Man Flu which plagued me a week before the ride.

I gave myself a night to relax 2 days before the ride; a coffee with a friend along the Strand. I cycled there on my beloved bike, and carefully locked it up outside the café in full sight. Unfortunately I am also sad enough to insist we sat in the window in order to keep an eye on it. We chatted away, having a laugh when my friend joked that I am so sad I should indeed marry my bike. I looked across to give the old girl a wink, when I noticed, to my amazement, that she was no longer there. I upped from my seat and ran to the bike rack. I returned to the café with a face like a bag of sand. My bike had been stolen. Two days before my well planned, and much publicised ride, and I had no bike.

Facebook came to my rescue with a mate offering to lend me his bike, a very kind gesture and one I very much appreciated. It crossed my mind to postpone or even cancel the ride, taking the evening as a bad omen. However, there’s one sure fire way to get rid of that much frustration and anger- err, cycle for 10 hours..?

The morning came, and someone upstairs must have been listening as the sun was shining. It was baltic cold, but it wasn’t raining and wasn’t too windy. I set off at 8am and cycled until midday when I had some friends join me on my coffee break. Another friend joined me for a couple of loops of the park although his pace tended to be slightly quicker than mine! I had another friend join for the last couple of hours of the day taking me past the hundred mile mark. It was very satisfying to see the miles counting up on my GPS, and to receive messages of encouragement along the way. The JustGiving updates also kept me informed as to when people donated on my page, which was the best encouragement of all.

You’d think I would have high’s and low’s of the day, 10 hours 21 minutes and 108 miles is a long time to be sat on a very hard seat in November. But being honest, I was smiling ear to ear all day. I even had a cheeky smile at the thief who had stolen my bike 2 days beforehand. He had no idea that his actions had such severe implications, but the fact that my friends helped me out and I decided to go ahead anyway made me laugh. I guess if I hadn’t laughed, I’d have probably cried all the way!

The fundraising continues for my trip to Costa Rica in January. I’m nearly at my target, and have a number of fundraising sessions set up in the coming weeks to get me over the line. There is plenty of planning to do in addition to this, fortunately I had the best part of half a day on my tod to think about it! All in all, I can’t wait to get out to Costa Rica and I can’t help but think that events like this are all part of the journey.

If you’d like to know more about myself or Raleigh International please do not hesitate to get in touch (jbaguley@gmail.com). My fundraising page is also still open, and any donations as always are more than appreciated. www.justgiving.com/jon-baguley

An alternative triathlon from Chris Boller...

2010-09-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

I received the volunteer manger position I wanted in the location I wanted. In January I’m off to Borneo as a volunteer finance manager- very excited!

Agh, the scary part, how do I raise the sponsorship required? I got my thinking cap on and thought of the things I like doing...

As a keen outdoor enthusiast I came up with my take on a triathlon: Running for 10km, mountain biking for 10km and then kayaking for another 10km. With the idea in place I set about consulting the OS map and deciding on a route. I was really excited about the big day but also a bit apprehensive. It was my day to do Raleigh proud; I’d done a lot of preparation printing logos, emailing contacts and drumming up support.

The day started with my support team Keith and Gemma arriving with the camera flashing. We decorated the car with all the pre-printed logos and made sure all the changeover items were loaded!

The run started at 10.30 with the support team blaring Roxy out the car stereo to start me off. Hugely grateful, several supporters were along the running route to cheer me on. Having done the 10km run over fairly hilly ground I quickly changed and set off on my bike.

95% of the bike route was off-road and being along the North Downs was even hillier than the running route including several sections of single track. Again the support team did a terrific job.

I had persuaded one of my friends Keith to kayak with me so I would have some company for the last bit. Arriving at the stepping-stones on my bike for the change over to kayak, there were supporters to spur me on for the final leg. Another quick change and I was off again!

The kayaking would be the slowest part of the day but along the scenic river Mole. The river levels weren’t great but I managed to paddle the whole way with only a few scrapes along the bottom. A surprise sign 10km later on stating “Finish Line” had been hung up against the final bridge, yepie! I had made it!

Not satisfied with just the triathlon, I invited everyone back to mine for chilli in the evening, to truly celebrate an incredible day.

I use the word again: an amazing day. Thanks for all the support especially to CAP (Croydon Active Paddlers) and particular to Keith, Gemma and Mike, without whom the day couldn’t have happened. I’m truly grateful.

I am half way there to my fundraising target. Next on my fundraising plan is doing my 2nd car boot sale. I’ve learnt not to be afraid of the fundraising but to embrace it!

You can still sponsor me at
http://www.justgiving.com/Christine-Boller20

Your support is really appreciated, Chris

Have I gone bananas?!

2010-09-03T02:17:00.000-07:00

Fundraising can be tough, but when it pays off the rewards are big. After signing up to take part on an expedition with Raleigh I knew there was a long way to go before I reached my target but I was excited about getting there. I started off by researching a few ideas; Raleigh’s fundraising blog is a great place to start, although unlike other venturers I’m not going to be jumping out of a plane anytime soon!

I’ve been very lucky to have a few mates willing to help out. One night I fundraised in pubs in Manchester raised a surprising amount; a few people even got us drinks! All it took was a word with the landlord, telling them all about Raleigh. It might have been a bit daunting a first but soon enough it became second nature and ended up being one of the best nights I’ve had in ages. So, put on your Raleigh t-shirt, rope in a couple of mates, grab a few collection pots and get collecting (there might even be a drink or two in it)!

Another way I’ve been raising funds is through writing to grant-giving trusts. These trusts donate money to certain causes, such as helping poor communities overseas and encouraging young people to see the world. Nine times of ten you might not get a response, but that one reply can make a big difference. One trust was kind enough to donate £500. I also had a few really nice letters of support which gave me the motivation to keep plugging away until I hit my target.

For my final round of fundraising I decided to do something big, risking both my limbs and my dignity, I decided I would climb Yorkshire’s three highest peaks in just one day... dressed as a banana (Costa Rica’s most famous export). I set up a JustGiving page, a Facebook page and sent messages to all friends and family. Soon enough the donations came rolling in. I also managed to get a piece in a couple of local newspapers, using Raleigh’s guide (included in the welcome CD) I put together a press release and fired it off to a few local newspapers. I got a response almost straight away and it was printed just a few days later.

Last Sunday I took part in the climb (along with fellow venturer Becky Slater). We might have forgotten the dog, I might have stumbled into a bog, but together we scaled three peaks and hiked twenty-five miles in just ten hours. It was a great day and for anyone looking for ideas I would highly recommend it. The views are incredible and it’s fantastic preparation for the adventure part of a Raleigh expedition.

Eco-friendly fundraising

2010-08-13T01:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

As a Venturer for India 10k (Oct-Dec 2010), and a complete newbie to London, I decided to throw away my Oyster (Tube & Bus) pass, acquire an enthusiastically rusty set of wheels and cycle my way through 1,000km to raise up to £1,000 of my target for Raleigh! I wasn't happy with just doing this and quietly badgering my friends on Facebook to sponsor me, I actually decided to TAKE people on my daily journey WITH me, by strapping my lovely little digital camera on to my handlebars and filming the whole way in to work at 6.30am! To make it more entertaining than 40 minutes of lactic acid, a few near misses and the almighty dangerous london bus, a friend and I had a little play with the film using some editing software and came up with this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81E1A4cAkDY

Putting this up on Facebook alone has raised almost £500, as I've sent periodic updates about how sore my bum is, nearly getting squished into the shape of a nearby lampost and documenting the more hilarious moments (a man struggling to multitask being on his mobile phone whilst riding his bike in a suit, complete with briefcase was a sight I'll never forget!)

I think the best thing about doing a video was that it reached so many people over the internet and they could SEE what I was doing to be worthy of a donation - by far the best thing seeing as there's only so much you can lean on those immediately around you before they start avoiding you when they see you coming...

I've still got a couple of hundred kilometres to go before I reach my target, but at least I know now that there'll be no excuse on the trek part of volunteering in India as these calves of steel are currently covering 100km a week!

www.JustGiving.com/AmysAdventuresInIndia

All the best with everyone's fundraising,

Amy

p.s. I can also highly recommend bagpacking at your local supermarket - head straight for the more ethical/green/upmarket ones for best results!

Stephen Nunes throws himself out of a plane for Raleigh

2010-06-09T05:53:00.001-07:00

I’ve always wanted to throw myself out of a plane...so I saw this as a great opportunity to incorporate my Raleigh fundraising. I decided to pay for the skydive myself and asked people to sponsor me so the money they donated went directly to Raleigh instead of being used to pay for the actual jump.

On the actual day itself I found myself slightly less confident than I had been previously and in a matter of a few hours I had donned a very fashionable blue jumpsuit complete with headgear and goggles and clambered into a small plane.

After around five minutes, my mother who had kindly and somewhat foolishly agreed to jump with me disappeared out of the plane attached to her instructor. Then came my turn and I just had to take a deep breath and pray to whatever God there was!

The actual freefall was over in less than a minute but I don’t think I’ll ever experience another moment as exhilarating in my life again. After coming back down to earth, literally and emotionally, I found the nearest pub and ordered a stiff drink.

To be able to have the experience of a lifetime and at the same time raise money for Raleigh was just fantastic and if you get the chance to do something like this, please don’t think twice.
www.justgiving.com/stephenadriannunes

2010-05-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Helen Nuttall has just completed her ten week expedition with Raleigh in Costa Rica & Nicaragua. Helen joined Raleigh through the Graduate Bursary Award.

“Due to the fact I signed up close to the expedition departure date, I only had about two months to fundraise. Therefore I had to think of short-term fundraising. I decided to do a 10km run and ask everyone I knew to sponsor me, which was pretty successful. After harassing everyone I possibly could, I had about £350 which was much more than I expected and worth the pain and suffering of doing the run! (Plus I got fit at the same time!) I also wrote letters to every trust and charity I could think of, outlining what it was I was doing. To my surprise I got £200 pounds from my local Rotary Club and £300 from another charitable trust. I was absolutely over the moon!”

Helen was successfully featured in her local press before going on expedition. Read the article here to find out what they said.

Hannah White is fundraising for her India expedition this Autumn

2010-04-26T02:31:00.000-07:00

Hannah White is up to all sorts of fundraising such as a Bollywood party, a 40 mile sponsored hike, car boot sales and more!

I'm going to India in Autumn this year as a volunteer manager. I'm fundraising with a couple of big events which I think should raise most of my money, and have roped in people who can help me.

A Bollywood party: Beer, Bollywood and Bhajis! I've managed to get a great free function room at a bar in Manchester, I have friends with full DJ-ing kit and lights who are doing the music for me, and I'm working on getting some free or discounted Indian catering. I've done a lot of asking friends and colleagues if they have friends who can help me out with stuff - it's amazing who people know!

I'm selling tickets, which another friend has designed for me, and also putting on a raffle on the night, currently working my way round Manchester's Indian restaurants for Indian themed raffle prizes.

A sponsored walking challenge: I wanted to do something meaningful, and came up with the idea of hiking the full breath of the Peak District in a single day, 40 miles from my home town of Sheffield to my now home of Macclesfield. Again I've roped in a few hardcore friends to join me (and help with the map reading!). We've tested the route out over two days and it was really difficult, so doing it in one will be a huge challenge, and hopefully something people will think is worth sponsoring. Check out my just giving page that I'm about to launch: www.justgiving.com/hannahgoes2india

Top up events: I'm doing a couple of car boot sales next month. I've asked friends and colleagues at work to bring in stuff for me, it's a great way for people to support without having to put their hands in their pockets and I've got loads of stuff to sell. If I need a bit more money after that, I'll be recruiting people to do some baking for cake sales at work, as well as getting creative in the kitchen myself - always a winner!

Stephen Nunes fundraising for his expedition to Borneo

2010-04-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

Stephen Nunes is fundraising for his forthcoming summer expedition to Borneo. As well as hikes, runs and skydiving, Stephen is also planning on shaving his head and putting on sponsored karate training sessions...

I decided to raise most of my funds by doing a series of sponsored events and encouraging friends, colleagues and family to donate to my cause.

I got lots of ideas from the fundraising pack provided by Raleigh and decided to try and do events which would challenge me physically and help me prepare for the expedition to Borneo in July.

I did a 16 mile hike and a 26 mile hike back in March and I still have a 5K run, skydive and head shave to do. I also prepared a press release that I sent out to local media and I was able to get an article about my sponsored skydive in my local newspaper.

My karate instructor read the article and offered to organise a sponsored training session at my club. Club members brought their friends and family along and helped raise over £250.

The best part of fundraising for me has been the opportunity to talk to people about Raleigh and what I’m going to be doing!

www.justgiving.com/stephenadriannunes

Narin Cakir is fundraising for her forthcoming expedition in Borneo

2010-04-19T02:36:00.001-07:00

Narin Cakir is fundraising for her forthcoming expedition in Borneo this coming July and has just finished a 5km run.

I signed up to a 5K run quite early on in my fundraising plans and it turned out to be a great way to raise awareness of Raleigh and why I was raising money. Friends saw me training or even better, joined me on my jogs and I think they appreciated that I was working hard to earn my sponsorship. It was a great way to keep people updated on my fitness progress through my Facebook group and also give gentle reminders to sponsor me throughout my training. I invited friends to watch me run and they helped spread the word about how hard I had worked and why! In the end it was crossing the line, my own personal sense of achievement and photographic evidence that encouraged friends to visit my fundraising page and donate.

I'm really glad I did it because if nothing else I am that little bit fitter and hopefully stronger for the Borneo expedition challenges to come!

www.justgiving.com/makingthingshappen2010

Chris Morris, Graduate, is cycling from Lands End to John O Groats

2010-04-08T04:34:00.000-07:00

After weeks of training rides and hours spent preparing for his trip, Chris will be setting off on his bike ride from Lands End to John O Groats this Sunday, with an aim to complete the ride in just ten days. For the past month and a half, Chris has been preparing for the ride by cycling 160 miles a week, buying kit, planning his route and fundraising for the charity Raleigh. With his training complete, kit brought, route planned and fundraising target due to be smashed with the help of fund matching from his employer, Bupa International, Chris is ready and raring to go. Chris commented, “I feel confident and can’t wait to start the ride ... I’m prepared for all conditions, but hope the weather is good and the snow in Scotland has melted by the time I get there!”

You can find out more about Chris’s preparations and follow his progress on the ride by visiting his blog at http://endtoender.blog.co.uk/ . Chris will be updating his blog with pictures and a day-to-day account of his ride.

All the money that Chris has raised for his bike ride is going to the charity Raleigh, who help young people, including those disadvantaged and ‘at risk’, to work on worthwhile environmental and community projects that achieve sustainable outcomes. Chris will be travelling to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with Raleigh in July this summer to work on these challenging projects that are positively benefiting local communities. Previous projects the charity have successfully completed have included constructing schools, sourcing water supplies to villages and restoring natural habitats for wildlife.

Louise Norris' fundraising walk for her India expedition

2010-04-07T03:40:00.001-07:00

Louise Norris is currently fundraising for her forthcoming India expedition and has shared one of her latest ideas with us, a London Bridge Challenge Walk

On Saturday 27th March a friend and I walked over every bridge from Kew Bridge to Tower Bridge along the Thames dressed as Tower Bridge. I made the costumes, we were dressed as Tower Bridge, with joint hats and stripes on the sleeves for the drawbridge. We collected £28:38 from passersby along the way. I have raised almost £800 from my JustGiving page through sponsors for the walk so far.

Gemma Armes fundraised to join her expedition to Costa Rica & Nicaragua in Autumn 2009

2010-03-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

I did various fundraising events and asked for support from friends and family as well as writing to my old school, college, uni and various businesses. I did various events including:

· A 24 hour sponsored famine
· Set-up a Just Giving page and raised awareness through this and social networking
· Sent emails to friends and family
· Held an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party for friends and family as a charity event
· Collected at bars and pubs
· Held a car boot sale and sold off unwanted uni stuff and families unwanted items

Since my expedition, I am interested in learning more about International Development and I now want to get involved in fundraising and promoting awareness for a charity like Raleigh.

Natalie Dilloway is joining Raleigh’s 10 week expedition in India this summer

2010-03-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

I think that from doing all the fundraising, I have seen how much fun it is to fundraise and I think it’s the beginning of the journey with Raleigh.

My biggest money maker so far is a charity disco that took place in a local hall and bar. We chose a place which isn't too hard to fill and also one which is cheap on drink. We charged £10 a ticket and sold 100 which filled the hall itself. We went around to local shops, friends and family which donated things for a raffle. We made a total of £1296 and once we took out the expenses we had £900, which took a massive chunk off the total.

I have a close friend who works in a train station who asked around for me and got a set of 4 railway tickets standard class. We sold one set for £60, another set sold for £40. We also had two first class tickets which sold for £80. So that was put onto my justgiving website.

I wrote to the local paper who put me in it and a member of the public rang up and donated. From that article a man donated 23 elephant prints, each worth around £30 pounds. We are gradually selling these prints from £20 -£30 pounds. From this kind gentleman donating these print the paper decided to write another piece on us. We then got given a further 30 odd prints from another man which we are now working on selling to members of the public. We thought that we could rent out a local youth centre where we are going to have a gallery sale.

My dad is doing a sponsored swim; so far he is up to £180 and is still getting sponsored. My dad is doing this with a friend who has raised £50 so far.

My sister-in-law is having a curry night with her work friends. We cook them a meal and me and a friend wait on them. They pay £10s each and so far we have ten people going to this.

Me and three other mates are doing a 5legged race which we are going to set up next week.

I’m doing car boot sales when I can, and everything has been donated and we are selling on. The more decent things we are putting onto the site eBay, so far we made around £100 and people are still donating and helping out.

My brother is seeing if his work can help out and also my sister is as well.

The support that you get from people is outstanding and we are always trying to think of different ways to raise money. The next idea we are trying to set up is a dog walker. I’ll take out people’s dogs for 30mins and charge £6-9 depending on the size of the dog.

And my justgiving website is www.justgiving.com/natalie-dilloway

Pik Yan reflects on fundraising for Raleigh Hong Kong’s annual event, the ‘Raleigh Challenge - Wilson Trail’, and also for her expedition to India

2010-02-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

I graduated from university with an honours degree in 2007 and then worked in a PR and event management company as a Project Officer for two years before I joined the Raleigh expedition.

I helped Raleigh Hong Kong to hold their annual fundraising event, even though I was fully employed, and my job required me to work overtime quite a lot.

‘Raleigh Challenge - Wilson Trail’ is an annual fundraising event of Raleigh Hong Kong, which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. This 2-day-1-night mountaineering competition requires participants to form a team of 2-4 and trek along Wilson Trail, one of the famous trails in Hong Kong. Venturers can raise fund for expedition by taking part in the organising committee and help organising the event. The funds raised are also used to support different voluntary services in Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas, such as youth development projects, environmental campaign, and community building projects.

For fundraising for my expedition, I mainly raised from friends and colleagues by sending mass messages to all of them in my Facebook. In the message I told them I am going on an expedition, I briefly explained what Raleigh is, what it does and ask for their support to make my expedition possible. I also updated my status in Twitter and MSN to let everyone know that I am fundraising for my expedition. I used an online donation form which made for easy management of donations.

The internet is a really good tool for fundraising; you can raise money from friends overseas. Fully utilising the internet did make my fundraising easier and I was also able to create a good response.

From sending messages to friends and creating an online donation form for friends to fill in, followed by an online database for a donation record and online banking for checking my donation status. By the messages and status updates in different internet socialising sites, good responses are generated. Friends replied really quickly. They can donate through different channels at their convenience.

Challenges: When I was working on my individual fundraising as Raleigh was a relatively low profile charity in Hong Kong compared with other charities, it took greater effort in introducing Raleigh and explaining what it is about to my friends and seek their support.

Now I’m home, I realise I have learnt a lot about Indian culture. And I also gained a chance to face my inner-self which helped me understand more about myself. It is a life-long and memorable experience, and I have definitely broadened my horizon and scope. I had a great time in the expedition and I enjoyed it a lot.

Benita Sabharwal held a charity date auction to raise funds for her expedition to Costa Rica & Nicaragua

2010-01-28T01:33:00.000-08:00

I only had a month to raise all the funds so had to work fast. Whenever I could I would be fundraising. When I went out to parties for birthdays I would bring a jar and put it on the bar or ask around in pubs telling them all about Raleigh. On nights out I made signs for all my friends to wear saying “kiss poverty goodbye by kissing me hello” and they would give a kiss on the cheek in return for a pound.

I did a charity date auction where a number of my friends were put up in a silent auction for a date. It was put together in a week which took a lot of planning; getting the venue, guest list and actually finding people to agree to be sold! Overall this event was a success, giving me almost half the money I needed to raise.

My final event was a 40km hike from Uxbridge to Reading in a day. This was done partly to train for the trek that I do on the expedition. I knocked on people’s doors in my area for sponsorship and everyone was generous and eager to help which surprised me. My friend who also did the hike with me got sponsored by people in her home town for me. If I had more time I would have been able to get even more sponsors.

I had to make sure that I got a permit for asking people for donations in my local area and permission from landlords to collect in pubs. I also made sure that Raleigh’s registered charity number was visible so people knew who they were donating to, and used Raleigh collecting tins which had the Raleigh logo and charity number on.

Other things I did included; working and writing to a business that does charity auction items. They gave me a signed football shirt and I auctioned it on e-bay because I didn’t have time to arrange an event.

Andrew Needler recounts his fundraising experience

2010-01-15T01:42:00.000-08:00

Were you concerned about raising the funds to join Raleigh?

No

How did you raise the funds to join Raleigh?

Ann Watson Trust- £250
James Rechiff Trust- £250
Phillip Rechiff trust- £250
20 mile walk- £800
55 mile cycle ride- £500
3 hour swim (wearing a dressing gown) - £600

What was the easiest way to raise funds?

Make an effort, email everyone repeatedly, friends, family, companies.
Use the facebook group (your own) to your advantage- its brill!
Face to face sponsorship- people will help if they see you making the effort and showing enthusiasm.

Did you find it difficult to convince people to donate to Raleigh?

At first, maybe because I didn’t have faith or believe it myself. Once I was confident and backed my own ideas I found it easier to ask for people’s support.

How did you keep people up to date with your fundraising efforts?

Facebook groups, email and word of mouth.

Do you plan to contact your donors post-expedition to let them know how you got on and how their money helped?

Most definitely. I am doing a report and presentation in the New Year.

What are your top tips about fundraising to pass onto others?

Be enthusiastic, think BIG! Ask everyone and anyone, sure you’re asking them to donate for your expedition but you’re doing it for an amazing cause.

Bert McGaughey's fundraising for his Costa Rica expedition

2010-01-05T05:03:00.000-08:00

I spent the first week or so doing a lot of research in fundraising techniques and ideas, online and down the local library (libraries are a huge source of info, just spend a Saturday in yours and you'll know what I mean!). Initially I gathered e-mail addresses of all my friends and family - no matter how distant - and mail merged them explaining what I had signed up for, my targets (personal as well as financial) and linked the message into my Just Giving page.

JustGiving.com is the absolute epicentre of my fundraising effort, it is total fundraising! Sign up for free, link your page to Raleigh, and then start spreading the address about. You can integrate your page into your Facebook profile with a widget, and get your friends to have the same box on their profiles. Also Just Giving works with PayPal amongst others, which helps with donors who are apprehensive about card details being used online etc.

Once I started to gear up my fundraising efforts in the last quarter of 2009, I booked a bungee jump with UK Bungee Jump in Manchester (they have other sites covering different parts of the country) which really helped to raise awareness of what I (and we) are working towards. I also thought it would make a significant difference if I get my friends involved, so I contacted my local Riley's snooker and poker club who frequently hold poker nights. The manager was very helpful, and offered his club for a charity poker night, with all the necessary professional periphery to make it a superb night and great success – it helped that they had a bar too...

I recently moved house and figured I could raise a few more pre-Christmas funds by selling all of my DVD's on eBay, anyone can do this, just sell it as a joblot, and ask the buyer to pick the books/DVD's/CD's up from your house – this means zero hassle for you and instant funds.

In the New Year, I am looking at doing a boot sale, I already have several dozen second-hand books, some CD's and old DVD's and am asking any and all to chip in with unwanted bits and bobs to sell. Also my local indy cinema is keen on me renting it and putting on a charity film evening, they like the affiliation with a charitable cause and everyone coming gets to see a great film on the big screen.

The final important source of fundraising are local trusts and bursaries, if you go and ask your local library for help, there are acres of books listing applicable trusts to contact for aid. Remember always to word your letters well, linking to that specific trusts area of work, and always take time to write the letter by hand and lay it out properly. For two Saturday's down the library, I raise £200.

If you take one thing from this blog, it should be start your own Just Giving page and do it now!

P.S. Anyone who would be kind enough to donate any quantity of books et al for my boot sale, please contact Raleigh and they can tell you how. Also look out for news on my cinema evening in Kent, anyone is welcome to come and help raise money for Raleigh while getting to see a top film!

All the best, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year,

Bert McGaughey.

www.justgiving.com/bert1

Charlotte Parker is joining the Costa Rica and Nicaragua Autumn 2009 expedition and received the Raleigh Graduate Bursary Award

2009-10-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

I decided I wanted to do one sponsored event to raise the majority of my funds for Raleigh, rather than several events and risk annoying people by nagging them to sponsor me several times. I chose to do an indoor, gym based ‘triathlon’. This involved me running 5k, cycling 17.5k and swimming 2.5k (100 lengths) which at 25k is roughly 10% of the distance that will be covered on the trek phase of the expedition. I asked friends and family to sponsor me, as well as getting family members to take round sponsor forms to their place of work, and altogether I managed to raise about £500 just from this one event. I also baked cakes to give out whilst asking people to sponsor me as I found that this made people a lot more inclined to give money!

I have also gathered together old books and DVDs to sell on Ebay or Amazon, but this was one of the challenges of fundraising – with such little time to raise the funds it was hard to sell anything, but the plan is to continue selling the items after I return from the expedition, to replace the savings that I have had to use for things such as kit and vaccinations.

Another challenge was writing to companies, many explained that due to the current economic downturn they could not afford to donate any money – some explained that they have already given large donations to various charities this year.

I found that the website http://www.justgiving.com/ was invaluable for persuading my old university friends who I no longer see regularly to donate to my cause, it gave me a chance to explain why I was raising money, as some initially thought they would be giving money for me to go on an extended holiday.

Fundraising for the Raleigh Graduate Bursary Award

2009-10-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Luke Argall is going on a 10 week expedition in India this October as part of the Raleigh Graduate Bursary Award. Find out how he raised the money for his expedition:

Fundraising was definitely a challenge but a thoroughly enjoyable one. After finding out I was going on the expedition I immediately looked for the nearest car boot sale to me. I then sent a text to everyone on my phone asking them for their old junk which I could sell and hopefully raise my £200 deposit. Getting up at 6am was no fun, especially when it was raining but I thought better of it and set off. It was a long day but a friend came down to help me, with his car full of the stuff I couldn’t fit in mine, and I ended up with £130. This along with some of my weeks wage got me deposit and so I was away.

After chatting with a few friends about the best way to raise money, someone mentioned about doing the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge. This is to walk around Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in less than 12 hours. I thought this would be perfect thing to do as I’m not much of a trekker and I thought it would be good to do something similar to what I’ll be doing in India. 6 of us did the 3 peaks walk on the 10th September and again, after a very early start, we did the walk in just under 11 hours. The sense of achievement after finishing the walk was unbelievable and something I’m looking forward to experiencing again in India. Thanks to my mam taking in sponsor forms to her work and church and the five friends who did the walk with me, I raised around £300.

I wanted to try and bring everyone’s attention to what I was doing and so I got in contact with my local paper. I had a phone interview which lasted about half an hour and the paper sent someone to take my picture. The write up was published in the following weeks paper and listed all the events I had set up and what I was doing to raise the money. This included the url for the just giving page I set up which came in fantastically useful as I have a lot of relatives who live in Australia – this was a quick and simple way for people to donate and I raised over £300 online.

I organised a charity football match which was my football team – Bingley Town FC against a team of my friends. This was very successful and I raised £110. I also held a charity fundraising night which helped me raise over £300. I charged people 5 in and with that they got their first drink and a bowl of curry free. After that I charged a small fee for food and beer. I had gone round my home town weeks before the event and asked local business’ if they could contribute in someway – I got some great raffle prizes including family cinema and bowling tickets, a cycle helmet and a motor cycle racing jacket. After the event I sent the businesses a letter thanking them and telling them how much I raised (I also included the certificate that came with the Raleigh welcome pack).

Organising so much in such a short amount of time was a really big challenge and I was very close to cancelling the charity night after thinking people weren’t going to turn up. I stuck at it though and had a really good night and it was all worth it. The satisfaction of organising things and them going really well is immense and when people are there to support you and tell you how proud of you they are, it makes it all worth while and makes you look forward to going even more.

Find out more about the Raleigh Graduate Bursary Award

Maddy Oakes' fundraising for her India expedition - the second instalment!

2009-06-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

May was a major month of fundraising for me! On May 16th I held a Casino Night at my local golf club to raise funds for my expedition to India. After provisionally booking the venue I searched the web for casino hire companies who catered for my area and also within my budget – some companies even offer a discount for charity events. The company I booked: http://www.beginnersluckfuncasino.com/ really made the night a success and the croupiers had a great rapport with the guests. A fun casino night can be held just about anywhere – no matter how big or small the venue and guests need not have any knowledge of the games. To promote the evening and start selling tickets a friend offered to design a poster (including the Raleigh logo which is always important) which I put up in local shops and also created small flyers to hand to family and friends. After doing some maths I worked out a ticket price that would cover the costs of the venue, casino hire and catering and leave money over to buy prizes for the winners (as it is a fun casino no cash prizes are awarded). I bought prizes for a prize draw (each guest had a named envelope into which they placed a paper donation and this then became their entry into the raffle) and three top prizes for the highest male, female and overall casino winners (which were found by the croupiers which made my life easier on the night). The ticket price included a three course meal and a set value of ‘funny money’ to use at the casino tables. From the event there were three ways in which I generated funds for Raleigh – firstly profit from ticket sales, then I asked guests to make a paper donation for a raffle-like prize draw and finally from further sales of funny money later in the evening for the keen gamblers. To urge the guests to dig further into their pockets I created a short film which I played whilst they were having coffee just before the casino tables opened (using clips from Raleigh’s promotional films); this helped me to convey Raleigh’s work, where their money would be going and it also reduced the amount of time I had to spend embarrassingly talking into a microphone. Although the event took a great deal of organising, I thoroughly enjoyed it and got the impression that the guests did too. It was a great opportunity to get on our glad rags and raise a good sum of money at the same time.

Then on May 31st I donned the lyrca and cycled from Manchester to Liverpool. The event was organised by Bike Events (http://www.bike-events.com/); I chose to do this because I would be cycling alone and their full support services meant I didn't have to worry as they provided signed and marshalled routes, mechanics, pick-up vehicles and First Aid teams. More than 1500 cyclists took part and although I was slightly worried before hand that they would all be pros the event had a very welcoming atmosphere and many families were cycling together. However, it should be noted that Bike Events cycles are sometimes for specific charities and so I contacted them to ask if I could split the money I raised between Raleigh and MAG (the host charity).

Then I decided to create a justgiving page) which is great as any money donated online through this page is deducted automatically from my minimum fundraising target set by Raleigh. Also, if your donations come from a tax payer gift aid can be supplemented, making their donation of a greater sum! Despite the minimal training I did before hand I thoroughly enjoyed the day – the weather was beautiful, I made it the whole 40 miles without a puncture and could surprisingly walk the day after!

Amy Harcus is going to Borneo this July as a venturer. Read about how her band night raised the funds for her expedition

2009-06-16T01:23:00.001-07:00

I held a band night at the Grampian Hotel in Perth (Scotland) who gave us the venue for free. Two local bands played, plus a skiffle band which was a combination of both bands and other musicians. One of the bands my dad plays harmonica in, Wang Dang Delta and $outhpaw headlined. Wang Dang Delta are sort of bluesy music, and $outhpaw are more like the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd (americana, folk, rock etc). I also had an auction (because so many raffle prizes were given to me and some were a little too expensive for a raffle). I sold door tickets for £6.50 each, and a strip of raffle tickets for £1.

Just over 100 people must have been there, and I sold over 700 raffle tickets! As well as all of this I was given a few donations on the night and I made just over £1400. My total now stands at roughly £1600 but money is still coming in.

As well as this I joined a team of youths under 20, as well as my dad, two youth workers and two mountaineering experts for a sponsored climb a Meall nan Tarmachan near Killin. It was a tough day but we got there in the end. I’m not entirely sure how much we have made from that yet but will find out soon! I’ve pretty much made the target though!

Anne Stirling has raised almost £4,500 for Raleigh by organising raffles, fairs, curry nights......and walking over the Pyrenees!

2009-05-14T03:35:00.000-07:00

FROM OSTABAT TO PAMPLONA
14th -17th April 2009

Day 1
Start Ostabat Asme 08:30 Finish 15:00 St. Jean Pied de Port(163 metres above sea level)

Weather: Bright in morning becoming cloudy after lunch. We passed through well kept villages with white painted walls and red shutters.The going underfoot was good with well marked paths.
We went slightly off course after lunch but arrived in St Jean-Pied-de-Port and climbed up through the walls of the town to our lodgings in the Rue de la Citadelle. There was heavy rain and a thunderstorm after we arrived.

Distance covered: 24 Kilometres

Day 2
St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncevalles
Highest point reached : Col de Ibaneta (1344 metres) 4408 ft
We left early next morning having decided to take the Route Napoleon over the mountain rather than the road route advised for the unfit and elderly!

The weather was cloudy but as we climbed out of the town the sun came through and stayed with us until lunchtime. Although we were walking on the road the steepness of the climb was enough to have us ready for a coffee break at the Refuge Orisson.

Leaving the Refuge we continued climbing still on the road but the wind got up and was blowing us almost into the ditches at the side of the road and seemed always to be in our faces no matter which way the road turned. We stopped for lunch at the Croix de Thibault seeking some shelter from the wind behind a 4x4 which had been conveniently parked. The sign said 8 kilometres to Roncevalles and we thought ‘Pas de problème’ - Wrong!

As you can see from the picture we were now at the snow line and the weather started closing in. We were soon walking through snow about 12 inches deep often in the footsteps made by the 8 or 9 people ahead of us. The path which followed the line of the Spanish border was extremely narrow and we were battered by hail and snow. We crossed the border into Navarre but the path still had a few surprises left for us. It started climbing again and we heard thunder and thought we might have to jettison our walking poles which would have made the descent very difficult. A last climb to the Col de Ibaneta our highest point, one more tricky patch of snow to cross and we were on the downward path to Roncesvalles. This was a very tricky descent first on snow and then on deep mud. When at last we reached our hotel(La Posada at 16:45 having covered 27.5 kilometres, 23 of which seemed to be uphill, a large brandy for Anne and a large beer for me were very welcome. The expected thunderstorm came in at about 18:00 – good timing! Still at a height of 952 metres (3100 ft)

Day 3
Roncesvalles to Zubiri (526 metres)
For some strange reason the hotel did not start serving breakfast until 08:30 so we did not get on the road until 9:30. However easy first few kilometres to Burguette an attractive village of mainly 18th Century houses.

After a cool start the weather brightened and first climb of the day to Espinal on a relatively easy path. Leaving the village the footpath climbed steeply and after crossing the main road the descent became very treacherous underfoot across rock and tree roots. A brief rain shower and another climb, on a paved path this time, brought us to the village of Biscarreta where we found a slightly down at heel bar for a sandwich and a drink. The afternoon was a long steep climb with difficult underfoot conditions passing a memorial to a Japanese pilgrim who had died on the way!
We could see our destination below us but we had another long and difficult descent through the woods with a final rocky scree to cross before crossing the bridge into Zubiri. We arrived at 16:45 in heavy rain fortunately in the village street regretting our delayed start.

Distance travelled 26.1 kilometres.

Day 4
Zubiri to Pamplona (420 metres)

The heavy overnight rain had given way to drizzle and low cloud when we left at 08:15 but it quickly cleared and by 09:00 we had stopped as had other walkers to take off our anoraks. Leaving the rather ugly Magnesite works behind we progressed down the valley alternately climbing and descending on wet and often muddy footpaths. A slight deviation while chatting to a Peruvian pilgrim saw us do a 2 km stretch along the main road before we picked up the pilgrim path again but we made good progress crossing the river again and climbing. These pilgrims certainly did not like the valley bottoms.

By lunchtime we had reached Trinidad d’Arre and the first suburbs of Pamplona. After lunch of tapas we started the slog along pavements to the city Boundary but with still another 4km across the pilgrim bridge and into the old town until we reached our hotel at 16:00

Journeys end (almost) Distance travelled 28km

Total distance 105.6 km

Fundraising – the next instalment - Rebecca Strickland

2009-04-14T02:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those of you who have contacted me since the first post. Your encouragement is a great help.

The quiz night is over and done but if any of you would like the questions/score sheets or leader table for your own quiz night just let me know. Alternatively I will hopefully run another night in May if you want to come along and join in – See, never miss a chance to get people to your event.

The next phase in the fundraising trail was a netball tournament. I am very lucky to be connected to some great people who helped me with organising and promoting this. Remember that your friends will help you if you do the leg work. My housemate manages a local evening league and I am one of her umpires. Instant access to a bunch of people who already enjoy what they are doing so the participants are on the doorstep. I spoke with the venue and talked them in to letting me hire the venue for a cut down rate – thank you Ealing Council (never miss an opportunity to thank those that help you) and we had a tournament. Well in date only at the moment. I entered my team into a charity tournament at the end of last year to get an idea of how it is run and where we could improve to make it a fun day. We didn’t do very well at the tournament but I learnt heaps. I can’t say I didn’t make the same mistakes but at least I was aware that they can happen. My biggest hurdle was the weather. What do I do if it rains? I cannot control this so what do I do? Well, each team entry fee is £100. Spread between 7-8 people is not much for a day out but represents a very good addition to my fundraising. So a £20 non refundable deposit directly to Raleigh will secure their place in the tournament. Teams have been asked to do this onto the JustGiving site and then they can see their donation is going directly to the charity.

I can’t control the weather….

To run each side of the tournament (Ladies and Mixed) I needed at least 6 teams. 12x100 = £1200 not a bad exchange for 10 more grey hairs and a few more wrinkles to my forehead. My outgoings were the cost of the courts (£175), Umpires (5 x £50) and lots of incidentals (hooter, t-shirts for umpires, raffle tickets etc…around £200). My actual outgoings came to £609 – could have been less if I hadn’t left some things to the last minute. I had another raffle, which exactly recouped my court hire costs. I went begging again for prizes and Marks and Spencer were again fantastic with £100 of vouchers. My friend Nic and I walked around the food hall and made 5 decent prizes of booze, biscuits and chocolates with £50 and another £50 of vouchers as the main prize. My boss gave me a half magnum of Moet (although not sure if she knows this yet) and a £15 gift pack from Boots (left over Christmas pressie) made for a pretty good raffle. As long as my boss and/or Aunt didn’t show up on the day all would be well with the prizes.

….. but I can’t control the weather…..

I posted advertisements on GumTree.com and send emails to other umpires and netball organisations with details of the tournament. Enquiries started coming in and now we had a venue, date and players.

….. I still can’t control the weather….

I pretty much ignored my job for about 2 days of every week whilst I was organising the tournament and in the week leading up to it. I should have taken a couple of days off but again I was in luck again and my boss was on holiday.

….. and the weather is still a complete mystery….

So on the Thursday I thought it might be safe to look at the weather. Clear skies and sunny – the gods are smiling at me. Now there was only one thing left to do and that was the draw. How hard can it be? There is a spreadsheet that does it all for you….haha. Three hours and 4 attempts later I had a working draw. All I needed to do now was put some timings around it. In hindsight I should have restricted the numbers and if I was doing it again would do. I had 7 mixed teams and 14 ladies teams. This then meant that each team played 6 games with 2 minute halves. Thank you excel!!!

The day dawned bright and after a few small panics the day went with off quite well. As I said in the last blog, you see the mistakes but most people don’t and if my inbox on Monday was anything to go by, the little cracks didn’t show.

As I said in the first blog, do something you know about and are good at. I’m not the best netball player but I know how to organise something and think about the details. The weather could have let me down badly and I might have not had a day at all, but the risk was worth the benefit and now I have raised the Raleigh amount and also managed to recoup my airfares and my vaccinations. Definitely worth the risk!

The only thing left to do now is to write my thank you letters to my raffle donors and everyone that helped out. Nic, thanks very much for all your support.

Maddy Oakes is going to India in October as a venturer. Read about her fundraising efforts so far

2009-04-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

Where and when are you going on expedition?I’m going on the India 09 J expedition, 9th October-16th December as a venturer.

Why did you choose Raleigh? I believe Raleigh was the best choice for me because it offered the best combination of activities as its expeditions incorporate both volunteer work and the challenge trek. I also really like the idea that Raleigh works very closely with the host countries to identify what projects would be most beneficial to the local communities. Additionally, I have heard very good feedback from people who have taken part in previous expeditions; dating back to my uncle who participated when it was Operation Raleigh.

What fundraisers are you planning? Initially after finding out I had been accepted onto the expedition I decided to create a facebook group (Maddy’s Expedition); this has proved useful as it has allowed me to explain my adventure and outline my fundraising events to friends and family. This also allowed to involve more people as my friends can then invite their friends to the group and posted events.

My next move was to seek the aid of local businesses. Using the venturer fundraising letter on the Welcome CD supplied by Raleigh as a template I edited it to suit each business; and asked for financial support/sponsorship or the donation of raffle/auction items. In an attempt to entice the businesses I have decided to create a t-shirt that I will wear whilst out on expedition which will denote the logos of the companies that have sponsored me. Although this endeavor wasn’t extremely fruitful it was worth the effort as some responded with generous donations (I also included my justgiving link in the letter and some chose to donate using this method). Whilst writing to local businesses I also researched online trusts/grants who can offer financial support – it may be worth looking into your local council as they should have a YouthBank (http://www.youthbank.org.uk/) which is an innovative grant making initiative run by young people for young people.

On May the 31st I will be donning the lycra and cycling from Manchester to Liverpool. This event is hosted by Bike Events (http://www.bike-events.com/); I chose to do this because I would be cycling alone and their full support services mean I don't have to worry because they provide signed and marshalled routes, mechanics, pick-up vehicles and First Aid teams. And there’s often music, massage and a welcoming beer tent at the Finish! However, Bike Events cycles are sometimes for specific charities and so I contacted them to ask if I could split the money I raised between Raleigh and MAG (the host charity). Then I decided to create a justgiving page (http://www.justgiving.com/madsoakes) which is great as any money donated online through this page is deducted automatically from my minimum fundraising target set by Raleigh. Also, if your donations come from a tax payer gift aid can be supplemented, making their donation of a greater sum!

My first major fundraising event will be a black tie event on May 16th at Leyland Golf Club and is a Casino Evening. The evening will consist of a three course meal followed by approximately three hours of gambling with funny money; there will also be stand-up bingo, a silent auction, raffle and so on. I also intend to create a short slideshow to play after the meal which will illustrate Raleigh’s work in a hope to provide people with a greater insight and a greater urge to dig into their pockets. I have promoted this event through the facebook group, putting little flyers in my parent’s Easter cards to family and friends and by putting posters up my local town. (Please find attached a pdf of the poster). Although it may take time and energy to organise this type of event, not only does it promote Raleigh’s work, raise funds for your expedition, it should also be a good night out for you and your friends.

As well as local businesses I have used/abused the local media; after sending out letters/emails to local newspapers and radio stations (sometimes radio stations can offer merchandise as raffle prizes) they are promoting my fundraising endeavors which is great to get more people aware of the events.

Although these big events are great don’t knock the old school raffle, quizzes and cake sales. Recently I held an Easter raffle at my local Church and raised ₤150 from approximately 3 hours work. All it required was around 10 prizes such as Easter eggs, bottles of wine and so forth. Perhaps, prior to your raffle warn people (i.e. put a notice in the newsletter/on the notice board) so that they can bring a bit more spare change in their pocket. Wap on your Raleigh t-shirt (always makes you look more professional), create some posters to outline where the proceeds are going and include the Raleigh logo and the registered charity number (people are much more willing to support a cause when a charity is mentioned), have the prizes on display (to tempt people) and let them know when it’s going to be drawn. (do you want a picture of this event?)

Any advice? Although fundraising can be a daunting experience, don’t be afraid to ask (but don’t be cheeky) – as they say nothing ventured, nothing gained. But do be prepared not to gain and don’t let it get you down too much, just think of your next move.

Rebecca Strickland is going to Costa Rica as a Volunteer manager in June. Here is how she is going to raise the funds:

2009-02-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

· What are you doing for your Raleigh fundraising? A quiz night, possibly 2, a netball tournament and begging my family and friends. I have taken up netball umpiring and am using the funds from that to pay for my flights and personal equipment. At £8 per game and 3 games per evening, 4 nights a week, I have raised over £900. This has covered my flights and vaccinations.
· How did you come up with the idea? A friend suggested a speed dating night, saw the expression on my face and then suggested the quiz. I currently umpire netball for a couple of social groups so I had excellent access to netball contacts and venues.
· What preparations and planning are required? Organisation, organisation and more organisation. I don't think you can ever over plan something like this. The quiz was researched on the internet and planned on paper. The netball tournament has been more about getting involvement from the teams and showing enthusiasm.
· Who else is involved? With the quiz night I got as many local businesses as I could to donate prizes for a raffle and then getting the pub enthusiastic so that they promoted the night and were ready for the 50+ people that arrived on the night was crucial. With the tournament again I have used the fact that this is for charity and people have been enthusiastic and helpful once they know that this is not just for me.
· Based on your experiences what tips would you give fundraisers? Be enthusiastic about what you are doing - it rubs off on others. Promote your event by using the charity name - it really does make people look at it differently. Get your friends involved - they have friends and so on and so on. Use the media that is there for free: Just Giving, Facebook, Gumtree, Raleigh Forum, Emails, carry flyers in your bag, posters at work etc...

Rebecca Strickland is going to Costa Rica as a Volunteer manager in June. Read her first blog entry here:

2009-02-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

Fundraising….. big enough word to raise the pulse rate. Where do you start? I set up a justgiving site and emailed it to my friends. Not a great response so I needed to do something more. Raleigh had some great suggestions but as I am now 40 and not even half as fit as I was in my 20’s triathlons and military challenges were going to kill me before I had even begun. Apart from that my friends laughed when I even suggested it.

So what do you do? Look at what you do best. I’m not an athlete, I’m an organiser who can do a fair bit on a pc. So what can I organise? I asked my friends what kind of event they would come to and narrowed it to a quiz night or bingo. My preference was for the quiz night and that’s where the fun started. Through trial and error I have found that the first thing to confirm is the venue. I found a pub that were more than happy for me to have the night in their main bar which meant that I didn’t have to pay hire fees for a room and I could invite their customers also. Set the date. A Thursday night just after everyone’s payday was perfect and the pub were happy also as it is a relatively slow night for them.

Luckily I live near the new Westfield so I spent the day walking from shop to shop begging people for raffle donations. I had made up some flyers with the expedition details on them leaving a space to show where their logo would go should they be kind enough to offer a donation. The yeses came from the most unlikely places. Marks & Spencer were fantastic as they have a policy to support local charities. Raleigh may be international but I’m a local and my event was local. The restaurants were great with vouchers for meals and some of my friends worked for companies who donated raffle prizes.

Ok, now it was all getting scary, best find some questions to ask these people. The internet is a wonderful tool and I found a website that gives you the questions for free and handy advice on how to run the night.

I found that my friends are more than willing to help rather than just give me £10. I made up a poster advertising the event and emailed it to everyone I knew. I made up small versions which I carried in my bag to give to people I hardly knew. I took posters to the local library, police station (for their crew room not the cells) and the fire station. They didn’t turn up but you never know. Most of my good friends brought people with them to make up the teams and some even brought 2 teams with them.

So the day finally dawned and checked things off that needed to be done. I had printed answer sheets, written the questions, bought raffle tickets, checked with the venue, emailed everyone for the third time to make sure they knew it was happening, what could I have forgotten. As I had run through this process at least 5 times a day it was unlikely I was going to forget. But yes, I forgot to pick up the hamper from Marks & Spencer – doh!!! Luckily a friend came to the rescue at the last minute and brought it with them.

The only thing left to do was to wait for everyone to arrive as there was no going back now. One quick drink as they arrived to stop my hands from shaking and before I knew it it was all over. The night went something like this:

We started half an hour late, due to technical issues with the microphone. The kitchen could not cope with the amount of food ordered all at one time that the bar staff almost walked out. The questions were a little rushed as I was conscious of the weather report and potential for snow that night. Everyone had a great time. When you organize something you see the things that are not as you would want them rather than how people see them. I had found questions that had people kicking themselves for not knowing or getting wrong. They had a few drinks, a giggle with friends and supported a friend.

The night raised £405 pounds with the winning team getting £100 in cash so I banked £305 to my just giving site and a few donations for people who forgot to pay on the night came in afterwards.

I can pass on a few tips for you:

1. Ask people but be prepared for them to say no. If you don’t ask they can’t say yes. If they do say no just smile and thank them for their time. You will be surprised at how many people say yes when you smile at them.
2. If someone says that they cannot make a decision, politely ask them for the contact details of the person who can and then leave.
3. People are so more likely to help when you do something first.
4. Do what you are good at. If you don’t think it will make money ask your friends how you think you can spin it to make money. Again if you involve them they are more likely to help.
5. Advertise, promote and generally annoy people. They may come just to shut you up. Never miss an opportunity to promote your event.
6. Use the charity. When you say you are helping someone else people’s faces change.
7. Your friends will forgive your little mistakes and probably won't even notice.
8. Don’t forget to thank everyone, again and again and again.
9. Remember your sponsors and donors, put their logos on everything, say thank you to them on the night (they might be there). Send them thank you letters after the event to tell them how much was raised. You may need them again.
10. Set up a webmail account purely for your fundraising. This stops emails getting lost with your other emails. You can use this for any fundraising stuff and then you can shut it down once you have finished. Mine is bec4raleigh@hotmail.co.uk