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03.06.2011
Liana Lonsdale (pictured right) is a student studying at Sheffield University. For her past year as a fresher, she's been Team Leading for Childreach International, fundraising and helping her team prepare to take part in their Challenge Event, Expedition Everest. This summer, after months of hard work, she'll be venturing out to Nepal's breath taking Himayalas. We spoke to Liana to find out how she felt in the final build up to reaching Everest base camp.
Why and how did you first get involved in a Challenge Event?
After taking part in a South African exchange programme, fundraising £32,000, and travelling around the world on a gap year I was definitely keen to find something that would challenge me at University. After a friend heard about my adventures he asked if I would like to introduce Childreach International to Sheffield University as a Team Leader. I was starting as a fresher and recruiting Childreach International's first Sheffield team, in a city that was new to me and full of strangers, seemed a huge challenge. But I was up for it!
What Challenge Event are you doing and why did you choose that event?
Our team is doing Expedition Everest. I chose that event because I figured if you have to choose a Challenge Event, what bigger challenge than the highest point on Earth! Plus, it is a great oppotunity to see Nepal which is a country I may not otherwise visit. The photos of the trek look breathtaking and simply sealed the deal. Everest all the way!
Are many of your friends going- have you helped them with their fundraising?
As I was a fresher when I started recruiting, I only knew the people I had met so far at University. When my flatmates heard me being so passionate about Childreach International and the Expedition Everest they were very interested and two of them signed up. A couple of people off my course signed up and also a friend that I met at circuit training at the gym. Most of the people in the team are my friends now anyway following various socials and fundraisers so I forget who I was friends with originally! I have helped with lots of their fundraisers. Especially a 'Take Me Out' event which involved a huge amount of planning. I even ended up donning a shirt and tie and hosting the night as Paddy McGuinness!
Why did you decide to partner up with Childreach International?
Not only do the Challenge Events sound epic and a fantastic opportunity to travel and achieve but it is also a great charity. The fact that at least £1100 of the fundraising total goes to projects all over the world makes all the effort worthwhile. In Nepal we will visit a school to see exactly how the money we raise can benefit communities. It is these tanglible experiences that show us how our work is valued.
How have you found your fundraising? Easy, hard, rewarding? Any good tips?
To make my first few hundred pounds and get my fundraising off to a good start I did a street collection with a bit of a difference. Last Christmas I stood with a fellow team member in the middle of Sheffield City Centre, in the snow, in our underwear and wellies wearing huge Mount Everest shaped sandwich boards (to maintain some dignity!) We did it for 3 consecutive weekends and made £290 each. It was definitely worth the cold. We even made it into a couple of the newspapers. My most recent fundraiser was running the Sheffield Half Marathon. I asked friends and family to sponsor me and made £180. It has not been too hard to raise the money as I have some good fundraising experience. Plus, as team leader I am often helping out members of the team rather than concentrating on my own fundraising.
Your trip is coming up fast, and after a year of hard fundraising, can you describe how you feel, excited, nervous, exhausted?
I am so eager to get the trip underway. It won't feel completely real until we are all at the airport in our matching yellow Childreach International t-shirts. Everyone is working so hard, it will be great to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So so SO excited!
What are you most looking forward about the trip - the project visit, camping or maybe finally reaching the summit?
I am most looking forward to experiencing Nepalese culture and seeing the country. I love visiting a completely new place and finding out about its people and traditions. Experiencing these first hand will be a unique experience. And I am also really looking forward to staying in the tea houses on the way to Base Camp. They look really cosy and I'm sure we will be relieved to see them at the end of a long days trek.
What is the biggest challenge you think you'll face during your trip?
Altitude sickness is a risk in high altitude treks such as Base Camp. Although there are several things we can do to help avoid it it cannot be prevented completely. We will follow all the advice we have been given and cross our fingers that everyone will reach base camp healthily and successfully.
Any last tips or advice for any fundraisers out there still working toward their target?
Keep calm. Plan plan PLAN!! Get everyone involved. Brothers, sisters, workmates, grandmas, friends, uncles, cousins, flatmates, pets, neighbours. That way you won't be targetting the same audience all the time to buy tickets/sponsor you etc. If your brother does a sponsored abseil, he can get his classmates to sponsor him. Money for you! Get your grandma to do a tea party for all her friends. Money for you!
So far, would you recommend the experience to others interested in doing something fun and active for charity?
It was a massive thing for me as a fresher to introduce Childreach International to Sheffield but it has been the highlight of my first year. Raising money for charity PLUS having an absolute ball along the way AND doing a challenge even at the end of it is the sweetest deal ever! I would DEFINITELY recommend Childreach Challenge Events to anyone and everyone.
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