A group of 6 employees from De La Rue, Basingstoke are taking on the National Three Peak Challenge this weekend. Currently in the number 2 spot on the #LocalHero leaderboard, can they stay there until the 30th June to win some extra money for Basingstoke Young Carers? This isn't the first time employees from De La Rue have attempted the Three Peak Challenge. The company actively encourage it and allow team members to raise money for charities close to their hearts. Andrea Gibson from the team explains why they chose Basingstoke Young Carers to support. "As a group we were keen to support both a children’s charity and a local charity so we all agreed that this was the group that we wanted to support. For me personally, I undertook a care role for a parent throughout my teens at a time when support groups such as this weren’t in existence, so I am delighted to be supporting the work of this critical charity who offer such amazing support to the many young people who face such difficult circumstances in their day to day lives." Meet the team  I wondered why the group had chosen a Where's Wally theme for the event. They told me, "we considered a number of fancy dress options just for added interest, and thought that there might be some good photo opportunities for “Where’s Wally” and “Where’s Wenda” photos at various points along the route!" The Challenge In the National Three Peaks Challenge, the team will need to climb the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales (plus the travel inbetween) within 24 hours. The peaks are: Snowdon, in Wales (1085m) Scafell Pike, in England (978m) Ben Nevis, in Scotland (1344m) "A couple of team members have done the event before and so know what they are letting themselves in for! However, for us newbies, we are not entirely sure what to expect. Apparently it is the minibus rides between the mountains that are the killers, the inevitable blisters and then the unpredictability of the weather (a couple of years ago the teams had to wade through 3 feet of water just to get back to the minibus having abandoned Scafell Pike)." Are they ready? The group have been preparing by running, walking and the occasional training session up 'Cardiac Hill' in Kingsclere. Trying to fit in training around a busy home life has resulted in some innovative techniques - speed marching with a weighted backpack and step-ups at bus stops. Every little helps! "Whatever preparation we make, I think it is still going to be a challenge, however I am assured that it is a fantastic experience and that walking up Scafell Pike in the moonlight is something not to be missed" --------------------------------------------------------  Top of the peaks!  Well done to the team who managed to reach the top of the three peaks successfully but sadly not under 24 hours due to traffic and a double tyre blowout! "Nonetheless it was an absolutely brilliant experience and memories for life. We encountered all kinds of weather (rain, lightening, horizontal hail and a lot of snow on Ben Nevis) but it was the relentless battering of the wind which made it the most tough." Now you can help Where's Wallys Waifs 3 Peaks Challenge win some extra money for Basingstoke Young Carers and keep them on the #LocalHero Leaderboard! Your donation will help them reach their £1,000 target, plus each new donor = another point in the competition!

Melanie Jeffs knows first-hand how important Nottingham Women's Centre services are for women seeking a safe and supportive environment.  "As the Centre Manager, I see the impact that we make every day. Our strapline is 'Helping women achieve amazing things' and I truly believe that we do this - and I decided to do some amazing stuff myself to demonstrate it." Providing this support costs money but it really does change lives Nottingham’s Women Centre has been running for 41 years and offers services from child care to counselling, basic skills and person wellbeing courses to help women achieve their aims in life. However, providing this support comes at a price which is why fundraising is so important to keeping the charity running. “It’s an experience I’ll never forget” The adventure pushed Mel to her limits to support the centre’s services which she believes can change lives. In August, she trained for only 8 weeks before stepping into a boxing ring. She then faced her fear of heights by abseiling down a 80ft high bridge in October and to top it all off, in November she jumped out of a plane!  Mel raised a whopping £2,147.23 for the centre after her stunts, which exceeded her £2,000 target.  "The money has gone towards turning a store room into an additional office for our mental health project ‘Renew’ (previously we had 21 different staff and volunteers juggling two desks and computers!!!) and also a small hardship fund to enable women to access childcare and/or counselling either free of charge or at reduced rates." Click to see brave Mel's fundraising page - 'My Year of Adventure for Nottingham Women's Centre'

 "...and who are you riding for?" When Tony, an experienced long distance cyclist decided to cross the pond and ride through the mighty USA, all his friends where asking him "...and who are you riding for?". Having previously only thought of his trips as holidays, he thought this was a good opportunity to fundraise for charity. "This time I knew with an expedition across a continent that I would be out of my comfort zone. With so many miles, deprivation and effort it seemed a good enough reason to tempt my friends to part with some cash." "I felt strongly that the folk who often have to sacrifice their lives to caring are truly heroes" Acknowledging his luck in being healthy and comfortable in life with few caring responsibilities for older relatives, he was attracted to York Carers Centre. The charity support people who subordinate their own time, money and ambitions to look after their loved ones. A proud Yorkie, he was also encouraged by the fact it was a local charity and that any money raised would stay in York and his community would benefit.  "I contacted the charity and was invited to meet some of the staff. I became even more enthused after talking to to the magnificent Sharron Smith and we then talked how we might plan and promote my ride to maximise any money raised." "It was a fabulously long ride, it had deserts, mountain ranges, forests, prairies and rivers as sights to see." Cycling accross America was always on his "bucket list", intrigued by the parts of America that you don't normally get to see. He experienced; bible belt churches, endless pick up trucks and farmers, the small town America of hamlets, Kentucky coal mines, vineyards, fruit orchards, Amish buggies, British ramblers visiting National Parks, irate blue collar Harley Davidson riders giving the finger, packs of dogs and every different version of a cheese burger!  "It was the time of my life and I found the different America I was searching for. I rode 3,900 miles at 73 miles a day. I felt that my relationship with the charity was quite close as I knew many of the staff. I also felt that climbing off was never an option as I had to ‘deliver’ the dosh! They invited me to a staff meeting after the ride and personally thanked me for my efforts - I was very grateful." York Carers Centre told Tony that £1000 would be tremendous. Well, Tony raised double that amount, a fantastic £2,078.05! Well done Tony for making it across America in one piece and of course for raising such a huge amount. A note from York Carers Centre "At times when it has become increasingly difficult to raise funds for charitable work and when there are huge demands on public services and finance York Carers Centre were thrilled that Tony Ives chose to raise funds to help our organisation. We were further surprised and delighted by the substantial sum Tony raised and this will be used to directly support carers with responsibilities for those suffering from substance and alcohol misuse and mental health problems.We are very grateful to Tony who set himself the daunting task of cycling across the USA and extremely proud of his own personal achievement in helping us."  Find out more about Tony's incredible journey on his blog or take a look at his very successful fundraising page 'Follow Your Arrow USA 2014'        

Each year on Shrove Tuesday, the little town of Olney in Buckinghamshire is invaded by women and their frying pans for the world famous Olney Pancake Race. This year Julie, who now lives in Olney, decided she wanted to take part in this old tradition while raising money for FACES who provide practical and emotional help to families. "I wanted to raise money for a local charity that would benefit children and families and I decided FACES would be ideal. I am a paediatric nurse and the work that FACES does would very much benefit many of the people I come across." The tradition dates back to 1445 when a local woman who was making pancakes preparing from Shrove Tuesday, heard the "Shriving bell" signalling the start of the church service. Frying pan still in hand, she ran to the church, skillfully tossing the pancake to prevent it from burning while still dressed in her apron and headscarf - wonderfully modelled by Julie on the right.  "I was amazed by the response and support I received. I set out to try to raise £100 so to raise more than £700 (including offline donations) was fantastic!" And the money raised... Wendie from FACES (Family and Children's Early-help Services) explains, "we were delighted when Julie approached us and said she would like to raise funds for FACES. We are a local independent charity and all the money that is raised goes directly to families and their children when times are tough for them. Julie did an amazing job and raised a staggering £700 for us and although the money is fantastic, an added bonus was that she helped us to raise our profile. The money Julie raised has been put aside to pay for a daytrip for our most deprived children, many of them have nothing to look forward to in the Summer holidays. Paying through Localgiving was such an easy way for Julie and FACES to promote the event on our social media sites, it was easy to post a link and take donors straight to our page. Julie is our hero and we are so very grateful to her." Visit Julie's page - 'Julie's running the Olney Pancake Race for FACEs!' 

A big congratulations to Nicky who walked the length of the North Downs – 125 miles from Farnham to Dover – in sections over the year. As a mild sufferer of ME, she wanted to raise funds for her local support group, Richmond and Kingston ME Group, who have around 160 members, many of whom aren’t able to come to the meetings.  “Whilst I am fortunate enough to be able to work part-time and lead a fairly active life, many of my fellow sufferers are housebound or even bedbound with virtually no life beyond the four walls that surround them.” She managed to raise £965.01, almost doubling her £500 target, which will go towards reducing the isolation that some of the worst case sufferers experience. The self-help group send out a quarterly newsletter, operate a telephone helpline and host an email chat group so that housebound members can stay included and supported through the activities. What will the money go towards? “Richmond and Kingston ME Group are delighted and proud of Nicky’s achievement and we are putting part of the money raised towards an ME Question Time on October 3rd 2015 organised with the ME Association to give members a voice who are too ill to speak for themselves. We would like to put the remaining money towards an emergency fund we hope to set up to support any members who are in extreme need though this is still at the planning stage.” Linda Webb If you want to find out more about the Richmond and Kingston ME Group please visit their Localgiving page here. Go one step further and become a fantastic fundraiser like Nicky, click here to set up your page. Also visit Nicky's page 'THE NORTH DOWNS CHALLENGE'    

Enabling children and young people to achieve their full potential through safe and enjoyable activities is the main goal for Milton Keynes charity Action4Youth. Their newest ambition is to build a fully equipped Yurt Village to develop the opportunities for disabled young people in the area and allow them to take part in adventure activities with their peers. To kick off their fundraising endeavour, the charity organised a sponsored Rowathon, where teams were challenged to row 86.3k on indoor machines. Raising £9,600 through their Localgiving fundraising pages means they beat their target by an amazing £1,600 and made a huge step towards the £80,000 they need to realise the project. Lynda Cockerell, Chief Executive of Action4Youth and second highest fundraiser explained the new facilities will be a fantastic local resource for young people. “We believe there is no other centre locally that can offer the same facilities, trained staff or adapted equipment and it is Action4Youth’s aim that these resources and opportunities are in place for the benefit of our communities”. The idea of rowing the equivalent distance of Henley to Mortlake on the Thames was inspired by the successes of their youth rowing team, and a special guest visit from Olympic Rower Sir Steve Redgrave. Sharon Robertson, the event organiser, is excited about the terrific response from the community, “We were very pleased regarding the levels of support offered for the event, either through people willing to take on the challenge themselves or through offering sponsorship and providing encouragement on the day to cheer on friends and colleagues”. The event took place at their outdoor education centre Caldecotte Xperience, which is where they will expand the facilities for the Yurt Village.  Smashing their fundraising total was a huge success for everybody who took part, but there were two rowers who far exceeded expectations. Lynda and Ken raised well over their £3,000 personal targets and made a huge difference to reaching the final goal. To raise the rest of the money the charity is organising a number of other activities throughout the year including a golf competition, an auction and a boxing show dinner. Ken Birkby, Chairman for Action4Youth and highest fundraiser, said “It was great fun and demonstratedthe fantastic team spirit of the employees of the charity and their friends and families. The money raised through the generosity of our contacts is a superb start to achieving the amount required for this amazing project.” Find out more about Action4Youth MK and other ways they will be raising funds for the Yurt Village through their Localgiving webpage.    

  Families United Network (FUN) supporters are willing to walk on fire, jump out of a plane or swim the equivalent of the English Channel so the charity are able to keep on supporting families in Bedfordshire living with disabilities. Having raised over £7,700 in 1 year through 30 supporter’s fundraising pages, their fun and creative challenges are proving to be a huge success. £4000 from one event “Our most successful fundraising event so far was a Fire Walk back in November 2013” says Diane Rhodes, FUNs charity administrator. “Because this was an unusual event, we found that more people wanted to take part once an initial few had signed up. We were very lucky to exceed our minimum amount of people, but also with the extra help through the Grow Your Tenner match fund campaign we raised just under £4000 at this one event.” The money raised from FUN events enables the charity to provide holiday clubs, activities, trips and community outreach projects for children and young people as well as support sessions for parents and carers. Letting their fundraisers know what they are planning to use the money raised for is key in their fundraising strategy. “If there is a particular item, trip or activity that we are trying to raise monies for we let the fundraisers know to help them raise monies for the challenge they are participating in” explains Diane. The benefits of fundraising challenges The charity believe that by offering regular events and challenges that people can take part in they have been able to further their fundraising more efficiently. “Through our events we have been able to reach and engage with more donors as individual fundraisers introduce our charity to their personal networks. We have raised more awareness and funds this way than we would have done by just targeting donors ourselves.”  Each supporter that takes part in an event receives a fundraiser pack with details of the charity and the event and FUN also keeps in regular contact to support them and let their fundraisers know they are appreciated. “Our fundraisers are important to us as without them we would not achieve our goals.”  Learn more about Families United Network and their new fundraising events through their Localgiving page. 

  Why consider running a marathon for a local group? Sometimes support of a local charity or community groups goes beyond a donation or giving up a few hours to volunteer. Fundraising for a cause important to you is a great way to go that bit further. Sharing a cause with your friends, family and colleagues and rallying them to show their support. It’s a fantastic way to not only raise funds for the charity of your choice, but to spread awareness of the cause to your network. A sponsored run is possibly the most popular event amongst fundraisers. There are many opportunities to get involved with various marathons across the UK such as the London Marathon, Great North Run and the Brighton Marathon to name just a few. Running alongside thousands of others who have made the same decision can be inspiring. It’s a feeling that can’t be matched! So what are you waiting for? Pick a local charity, set up a fundraising page, promote it to your network, train and have a blast! Check out some of our fundraisers who have accepted the challenge here and be inspired to do the same!