Natasha’s Next Sailing Adventure with “Miss Isle Too”

Published May 23, 2013 Fundraiser Stories Leave a Comment
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Natasha Lambert

On 1st July Natasha Lambert is going to sail across the English Channel to France in a boat controlled by using only her mouth raising money for the RNLI and the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust.

Natasha has Athertoid Cerebral Palsy which means she has great difficulty staying still and coordinating movements. But she’s never let this stop her doing the thing she loves – Sailing. Her Mum Amanda says “It’s made a world of difference to her being able to sail, apart from loving the fresh air and the wind blowing in her hair, it can be very exciting because she’s able to make her own decisions without help”.

This isn’t Natasha’s first sailing challenge, last year she sailed all the way round her home of Isle of Wight and raised over £17,000 in the process.

This week she was presented with the ‘RNLI National Youth Supporter of the Year’ award by the Duke of Kent in Barbican, London for all her fundraising efforts.

To help her complete the challenge to sail across the Channel, which could take several hours, she’s had a special boat made which works by using a sip – puff system using a single straw and a tiny tongue switch. It’s name is Miss Isle Too to recognise Natasha (Miss), her home country (Isle of Wight) and Too because this is the second boat that’s been converted by her Dad for her.

Natasha sees the crossing of the shipping lanes to be the most difficult part of the challenge. She’ll be sailing her 21 ft boat through one of the busiest shipping venues in the world. Other ships travel about 30 mph but Natasha’s boat only 6/7 mph so there will be some quick-fire decisions to be made.

You can follow Natasha’s journey on either The Miss Isle Facebook page or at www.missisle.com. And why not donate and help Natasha help others on her fundraising page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/missisle 

Win a place in the Zest Challenge

Published May 22, 2013 Competitions Leave a Comment
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Zest Challenge

The Zest Challenge 2013 with Alpro is a unique, women-only event. Rather than just running your way round a course, they’ll have you scrambling over hay bales, under nets and through tyres, negotiating balance beams and flying down a giant water slide.

The event caters for varying abilities with a 5km and 10km distance. And due to the fantastic success of the 2012 event, the Zest Challenge will have two locations for 2013 so why not join in at Hambledon Estate, near Henley-on-Thames in Berkshire, on 15 June 2013, or at Catton Hall, Derbyshire, on 22 June 2013.

Take part in this event…

Tickets cost £25 for the 5k race, or £30 for the 10k race and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The ticket price includes access to the event, a goody bag and medal.

You can sign up here but hurry! You’ve only got until the 25 May to be able to register enter.

Win a Place in the Zest Challenge…

Our friends at Zest have two free places up for grabs, at each location. To be in a chance to win just answer the following questions and email your answers vmgmarketing@virginmoney.com, with Zest Challenge in the subject line, by midnight 23 May:

  1. Who is the lead sponsor for the Zest Challenge?
  2. Name the two counties which host the Zest Challenge?

Terms and conditions apply.

Got a place already?

If you’ve already got your own place in Zest Challenge, and haven’t created your Virgin Money Giving fundraising page yet you can get started right here for either Zest Challenge Derbyshire or  Zest Challenge Berkshire and have your page collecting donations in just a few minutes.

Announcing our new partnership with the Zest Challenge

Published May 17, 2013 Virgin Money Giving News Leave a Comment
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Zest Challenge

We’re really excited to announce that we’re the official fundraising partner of the Zest Challenge 2013 with Alpro.

The Zest Challenge is a unique event for women that involved 5 or 10k To be held over two weekends in 2013, 15 June at Hambledon Estate, Henley on Thames and 22June at Catton Hall, Derbyshire. With added obstacles like hay bales, nets, tyres, balance beams and a giant waterslide it’s not quite your average run.

The challenge in 2013 caters for all levels for fitness with a 5km and 10km distance. And due to the fantastic success of the 2012 event, the Zest Challenge has introduced two locations this year. The day starting with breakfast provided by Alpro, will be a wet, muddy and adventurous way for women to get outdoors with their friends and burn some energy.

Zest Challenge 2013 with Alpro is aiming to become a fun way for women to be active, as well as raise money for charitable causes close to their heart.

If you’d like to find out more head on over to http://www.zest.co.uk/challenge2013/ where you can register for either Henley or Catton Hall, and don’t forget to create your Virgin Money Giving Fundraising for the Zest Challenge Henley or the Zest Challenge Catton Hall.

Win a free place on Nightrider London a 100km moonlit bike ride – 8/9 June 2013

Published May 1, 2013 Competitions , Events Leave a Comment
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Night Rider London

If you’ve been inspired to get on your bike following the fantastic summer of cycling last year Nightrider™ London could be the event for you.

The 100km route takes in London’s major landmarks: Tower Bridge, a deserted ‘City of London’, Canary Wharf, Piccadilly Circus, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and more…. The circular itinerary is clearly sign-posted so you can cycle at your own pace. And there’s full support and back up around the course.

If you’re interested you can sign up on your own, with a friend or in a team. Choose from over 160 charities to support. For full details of the event and to select the charity you’ll ride for visit www.nightrider.org.uk.

But hurry! You’ve only got until the 10 May to be able to register to ride for charity.

Win a Place on Nightrider™ London 2013

Our friends at Classic Tours who organise Nightrider™ have one free place up for grabs. To be in a chance to win just answer the following questions and email your answers to nightrider@classictours.co.uk by midnight 7 May 2013:

  1.  How far is the Nightrider™ route?
  2.  Name one of the start points.
  3. Which French city will host Nightrider™ this year?

By entering the competition you agree that the organisers Classic Tours may contact you by email about their charity challenges. They will not pass your details to any third parties.  The  winner will be notified via email on the 8 May and they will need to register before the 10 May to claim their free entry. The Nightrider registration will close on the 10 May, so if the winner does not register before then they will not be able to take part.

Got a place already?

If you’ve already got your own place in Nightrider London, and haven’t created your Virgin Money Giving fundraising page yet you can get started right here and have your page collecting donations in just a few minutes.

Win £500 for your charity in our Summer of Love

Published April 30, 2013 Competitions 14 Comments

The Summer of Love

This summer we’re spreading the love by giving away £2,000 in donations to help you raise more for the charities close to your heart.

Whether you’re taking part in an organised event or your own personal challenge, you can enter the prize draw every month throughout the summer to win a £500 donation to your fundraising page.

For every donation you receive on your page in May, June, July & August you’ll automatically receive one entry into a prize draw for that month. There’s £500 up for grabs each month throughout the draw, and because every donation gets you one entry, the more donations you receive the more chance you’ll have of winning.

If you’re already got your fundraising page set up, you can still take part, every donation you receive during the competition period will still gain you an entry.

So get yourself in the mood for the Summer of Love and set up your fundraising page. Your charity could soon be £500 better off terms and conditions apply.

And don’y forget, your fundraising is in safe hands with us, Virgin Money Giving is 100% not-for-profit so whether you win a donation or not, more of the money you raise will go to charity. In fact since launch, £5 million more was raised, thanks to fundraisers choosing Virgin Money Giving over JustGiving.*

Good luck!

*Figures based on a comparison of the cost of service and transaction costs of Virgin Money Giving with JustGiving, based on Virgin Money Giving’s fundraising total since launch in October 2009 up to 31 December 2012.

Looking for your next running challenge?

Published April 26, 2013 Events Leave a Comment
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Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon

Our friends at the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon are holding their beautiful Autumn half marathon on the 6 October, and there’s still opportunities to take part.

Whether your company is looking for your team’s next competitive challenge, or you’re simply looking to challenge yourself and fundraise for a charity, there are guaranteed entries still available.

Corporate Challenge Places

With six or more people, your company team would be competing against hundreds of others to be the fastest team on the course, while also bringing motivation and healthier lifestyles to the work place. If your office has a running club, or there’s enough of you up for a challenge you can
Sign up your organisation’s team today and be guaranteed a place in this year’s race.

Run for Charity

Charities large and small from across the UK have guaranteed places for the 2013 Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, giving you the chance to take part and raise money for an amazing cause.

The four ‘Golden Oak’ charities still have places in the event – Cancer Research UK, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Mind and Tommy’s

And there’s lots of other charities with guaranteed places take a look at the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon charity listings to see if a cause close to your heart has places available.

Got a place already?

If you were one of the lucky runner to pick up a place in the ballot, then why not raise a little (or a lot) for charity to. You can create your Virgin Money Giving fundraising page here in just a few minutes.

Well done Virgin London Marathon runners!

Published April 22, 2013 Events , Fundraising Tips 9 Comments
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Virgin London Marathon Finisher Medals

A huge well done to everyone who took part in the 2013 Virgin London Marathon! If you’ve woken up this morning and you’re still wearing your finisher medal it’s totally acceptable – you should be keeping it on for at least a week.

Now you’ve completed the run here’s 4 things you can do this week to boost your fundraising total

  1. Update your fundraising page with a photo from Sunday. The official Marathon Photo images will be available shortly, or if you had a friend take a photo at the start or the finish it will help show everyone you did it.

  2. Change the information on your page, let your supporters know how the run went, what time you did and how you feels to have run it.
  3. Send a quick email around to everyone you now – including people who’ve already donated. Let them know how much you’ve raised so far, what time you did, and how it went, and don’t forget to include a link to your page. You might get some repeat donations.
  4. You can download a finisher certificate with your time from the Virgin London Marathon, just put your details in here, you’ll find it just below your  marathon timings. It’s super useful to let everyone know you’ve finished.

We’d love to hear how it went for you, let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Earlier at the Virgin Money Giving Mini Marathon start kaavmw 90b3nf 1qdxbi ^AS

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