With the summer months fast approaching, the pressure is on for
participants in the Vanco Three Peaks Challenge to not only get fit
but also to get the cash rolling in, writes Nathalie Towner.
The annual event, in which teams of IT professionals attempt to
climb the three highest mountains in Britain - Ben Nevis, Scafell
Pike and Mount Snowden - in 24 hours to raise money for charity, is
only six weeks away.
Steve Cook, IT project manager at the Woolwich, is pleased with his
team's progress so far. "We have raised the £5,000 we need but we
are still going for more," he says. "We raised the money through
sponsorship from companies we deal with and individuals - ICL alone
gave us £2,000.
"Whenever we can, we are bombarding our work colleagues with
demands for money. We have had collections for dress-down days,
held sweepstakes on the Grand National, football matches and even
on the time and date of the birth of my colleague's baby girl.
"Our main fund-raising event is booked for early July. We are
holding a summer ball for around 150 people in which we are
incorporating a raffle and a fun casino."
Physical preparations are not being neglected either.
"Training has been good, we have never been so fit," says Cook. "We
have all made a concerted effort, mainly training as individuals in
the evenings and at weekends, and getting together as a group to do
some serious walking whenever we can, usually fortnightly.
"We are in the process of setting up our own Web site, introducing
the team, the charity and what we are doing, a thermometer gauge on
how the fund-raising is going and a thank-you page for our
sponsors."
For more information on the Three Peaks Challenge go to
www.challengeseries.co.uk