Getting ready

Sarah Ball, Founder of Modern Joinery, gives her thoughts with just a week to go until her and the team set off to climb the tallest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, for Kelly’s Heroes.

With just a week to go before the group of 16 flies out to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro, I thought you might like an update.

As I write we have £53,802 by729 supporters to the Kelly’s Heroes Climb Kilimanjaro page, and it’s increasing daily as we get closer to leaving. As a team, we can’t thank our supporters enough for your generosity, it’s been incredible.

But before we go – Mat Gibson from Chase Taylor is doing an extra challenge – because in his words, he would have loved to have joined the Kilimanjaro team, but with family and work commitments this year, it wasn’t possible. So instead, he is doing a 10-mile Tough Mudder on 7 September to support Kelly’s Heroes.

We would have loved Mat to join us on Kilimanjaro, but completely understand, and we are so happy that he’s involved and adding to the total. Most of us are pleased that we don’t have to do a 10-mile course that on the Tough Mudder website describes the highlights as a brutal route hiding behind the stately beauty of Ragley Hall. Don’t be fooled by the picturesque parklands; this course will have you cursing those killer inclines as you haul yourself through every obstacle. The grounds may look pretty, but the mud is merciless, ready to suck you in and spit you out filthy.

Please join me in wishing Mat luck and we can’t wait to see the pics!

In other team news – we have a new member. Meet Stacey Rowley from Comp Door who joined the team on Tuesday. After talking with me at our People in Glazing Society (PiGs) event in Newcastle recently, Stacey messaged me through LinkedIn the following morning and by Friday lunchtime, we knew it was possible for her to join the team! She needed confirmation of a few bits and pieces before making it official. Stacey has hit the ground running and has already managed to get most of her kit and made a good start on her fundraising.

So that makes 16 of us! We are all very excited to be going and all a bit nervous too. These percentages change depending on who you’re talking to! For me, I would say 50:50.

Keep tuned to our socials to see the latest news about the preparation for the trek and updates on Mat’s Tough Mudder.

And there’s still time to support Kelly’s Heroes through the team page on Just Giving  https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/kellysheroesclimbkilimanjaro