Archive for the 'Fundraiser Stories' Category

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

Published May 23, 2013 Fundraiser Stories Leave a Comment
Tags: , ,

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 

Jaidy

Published April 18, 2013 Fundraiser Stories , Virgin Money Giving News 1 Comment
Tags: , , , ,

Justin

And here’s the third one in our series, from Justin Khan. He’s originally from Canada but now lives in the UK and is running the Virgin London Marathon in memory of his Grandma ‘Jaidy’. To catch up on the first 2 blogs just visit blog.virginmoneygiving.com

In 2012, Jaidy became ill and unfortunately passed away, this was a difficult time for Justin who described it as not only losing a Grandma but his best friend too. The tough times were only just starting though as it was at this time he found out his Grandma was suffering from depression.

Justin decided to run the Virgin London Marathon for Team Run For It in memory of his Grandma and fundraise for Age UK and YouthNet. This way he could channel his passion for running and help other elderly people who feel alone so they didn’t have to go through what Jaidy did.

He says: “April 21 2013 will be a very emotional and challenging day…it is race day and it is Jaidy’s 81st birthday. Every mile will be for my Grandma and the elderly who feel alone, whether in the UK or elsewhere. At mile 22 when I feel like giving up, I will try and crack a smile and finish strong at mile 26.”

To help Justin crack a smile at mile 26 you can show your support and donate to his fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Justin Khan.

Running the Virgin London Marathon in Memory of Our Parents

Published April 17, 2013 Fundraiser Stories Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,

Sue

The second Fundraiser Story in our series is from Sue Higgins and you can catch up on the first one here.

After hitting The Big 4-0 ten years ago, Sue enjoyed running the London Marathon so much she thought she’d do it again for her 50th.

Sue’s running in memory of her Dad, Mother-In-Law and Father-In-Law, who all unfortunately passed away within 5 weeks of each other. Her whole family miss them greatly and as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for all their support over the years Sue thought the best way would be to run the 26.2miles for them and raise money for Age UK and YouthNet.

The last few months have been tough for Sue and her family but she says the London Marathon and all the training involved to get to the start line has been “something positive to focus on”. She says the training has been very hard but knows it will all be worth it when she crosses the finish line.

To show your support to Sue and help her reach her £2,000 target you can donate at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SusanHiggins

Go for it Sue!

“You can do anything as long as you have a plan and some support”

Published April 16, 2013 Fundraiser Stories 1 Comment
Tags: , , ,

Emma

After sifting through many fantastic, heart-warming stories of Virgin London Marathon Fundraisers we’ve picked three individuals to be the faces of our campaign to promote Virgin Money Giving to a wider audience. Our three campaign heroes each have their own motivation for why they are running and raising money for Youth Net and Age UK – the official charity for the 2013 London Marathon.

The first in our series is from Committed PE Avoider Emma Rubach. Emma’s running the Virgin London Marathon this year for the first time and it will be her first ever Marathon. Not only is Emma fundraising for YouthNet but she works for them too. They have partnered with Age UK to set up a project that will support young volunteers to help isolated, lonely older people get online.

So far Emma has raised £1,571 but you can help her reach her target of £1,850 by donating at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/EmmaRubach

To get herself fighting fit for The Big Day, Emma’s been doing some races with a group of friends in Cumbria and conquered a nine mile circuit in a village near Reading too. Her motivation for finishing that run she says was “the visit to a famous pie shop afterwards”.

As any intelligent runner would, Emma’s been tapping up other marathon runners for their tips and advice, these include “buying two pairs of shoes” and “waxing your bikini line” I think that second one came from a lady!

Emma says she’s surprised at just how much she’s enjoyed the training for the Marathon and it’s taught her that “you can pretty much do anything as long as you have a plan and some support.”

Good luck Emma!

Raywood tames the Royal Parks half

Published December 3, 2012 Fundraiser Stories , Guest Blog Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , , ,

Over the past few months we’ve received updates from first-time half marathon runner Dan Raywood.

Well, a couple of months ago Dan took to the start of the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, raising money for NSPCC and Childline. We heard from Dan soon after he crossed the finishing line in Hyde Park:

“I finished the Royal Parks half marathon in 2 hours and 43 minutes. The experience was really something I had not experienced before – streets lined with friends and families of the 12,000+ runners, noisy charity workers (in a good way) including my chosen charities, the NSPCC and Childline, whose encouragement pushed me on at mile 12.

“The experience was fantastic, despite the early start and cold, muddy conditions, I got going around 9:45 and the first 9/10 miles went well. I ran my fastest mile to date (10 minutes 40 seconds) in mile 1. I would say all went well until around mile 9 or 10 when my legs really started hurting and my thighs went to sleep. But I pushed myself on.

“Crossing the line as any runner will say, is an incredible experience and this was no different. I cannot fault anything about the organisation of the Royal Parks Foundation, it was fantastic from beginning to end.

“As for my next step? I have some plans for December but nothing into next year. However I hold fast on my ‘not doing a marathon’ promise, maybe that is my aching feet talking!

“Final thing I want to say is the about three groups of people I did this for: the first is obviously me, as I always wanted to do this but never felt capable enough to do it until I actually tried.

Secondly – the charities for whom I raised over £1,500  in sponsorship. A big thanks to everyone who backed me.

Third is you reading this – if you want to do something like this, then I say you can. Hey I’ve  done it!”

Giving the GRIM a go

Published November 30, 2012 Fundraiser Stories , Guest Blog , Virgin Money Giving News Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , , , ,

This weekend hundreds of participants will take part in the annual GRIM Challenge. We heard from Jake Kanter, who is tackling the course for the fourth time:

“Imagine spending your Saturday morning wading through waist-high icy puddles, wallowing in glutinous watery clay and climbing railway sleepers stacked as high as the bus that transports you to work every day.

“Imagine no more, because this is the reality of the Grim Challenge: a raucous annual celebration of mud and madness on the bracken-cloaked fields of Aldershot.

“The eight mile run is not your standard cross country fare. Situated on an army vehicle testing track and littered with military-style obstacles, even tanks struggle to navigate this terrain without wheezing with effort.

“I consider myself something of a veteran on these fields having completed the event four times. The reality is, it seems to get harder every year. Whether that’s down to the cunning of the organisers, or my steadily declining fitness, I’m not sure.

“What I’m certain of though, is Grim Challenge’s fun factor and its link to the charity I support every year: the Muscle Help Foundation (MHF).

“Like the race, this is an organisation like no other. It works tirelessly to fund and deliver Muscle Dreams – amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for children and young people with muscle wasting disease Muscular Dystrophy.

“MHF fundraisers belong to an elite band known as the Muscle Warriors, who are tasked with straining their muscles to improve the lives of those that are losing their muscles. It’s a simple but compelling vision made tangible by Grim, where Muscle Warriors from all over the country gather to make a difference.

“Emblazoned with MHF’s trademark burgundy t-shirts and sent on our way with a Muscle Haka and an ebullient warm-up, Muscle Warriors support each other through the mud and bluster of the race. So far, every one of the charity’s supporters have crossed the finish line with a smile on their face.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.”

Top fundraising tips from Leonard Cheshire Disability

Published October 26, 2012 Fundraising Tips , Guest Blog Leave a Comment
Tags: , , ,

Leonard Cheshire Disability charity have had a fantastic year, with their fundraisers taking on a whole host of challenges to raise money and awareness for the charity that helps support over 21,000 disabled people in the UK.

They’ve shared some of their top fundraising tips with us:

“Let’s be upfront about this: raising money is not an easy thing to do. Unless you’ve got a convenient group of millionaire friends, you’ll probably have to put in a reasonable amount of effort and try a few different tactics to reach whatever fundraising goal you’ve got ahead of you. Here are five of our top tips to help you get on the way:

1) Find out as much as you can about your chosen charity. The more you know, the easier you’ll find it to persuade potential sponsors to give you money.

2) Create your personal online fundraising page straightaway. ‘Personal’ is the key word here – make it clear that the page is about you, your challenge and your reasons for doing it. Get a photograph of you up there (ideally in your running gear, or doing something a bit daft). Write a few words explaining what you’re doing and why and of course, give a few facts about the charity you’re supporting – especially if you know exactly what your fundraising will support.

Need inspiration? Gary, Ali and Martin have each set up great pages for our charity!

3) Ask for help, not just donations. While you might think asking everyone you know for money is the way forward, it pays off to line up a key group of friends who you don’t ask for money. Instead ask them to share the load by helping you draw up your fundraising plan, rounding up new contacts, or organising some mini-events for you. Probably best these aren’t your convenient group of millionaire friends, though.

4) Remember to say thank you. People like to give money to charities. They also really like to get something back from it. At fundraising events this is easy – they get their food, or a raffle prize, or the chance of being crowned pub quiz champion. For anyone giving a donation on your fundraising page, you can literally say thank you by tagging them in your Facebook status or in a Tweet, so they get highlighted as a generous person – and include the link to your page so anyone who hasn’t yet donated has the chance to save face!

5) Have fun, raise more.Don’t rely on sponsorship alone – make your fundraising as varied and fun as you possibly can. Got a group of friends who like a get-together? Invite them to a film night – unlimited dvds and a bowl of popcorn for £5. Work colleagues always snacking? Hold a regular cake sale in the office. It’s really important that you enjoy what you’re doing because the more enthusiastic you are about it, the happier your friends, family and colleagues will be to support you – and the more you’ll be able to raise.

We’ve only got space for our top five tips here, but if you’d like some more – including lots of ideas of different themes and fundraising events – then you can find them on our own events blog.

Good luck, and happy fundraising!”

Time for the jump

Published October 23, 2012 Fundraiser Stories , Virgin Money Giving News Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,

Graham Machin recently took to the skies to take on a skydive, raising money for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Having completed his training, the next step was to jump out of the plane! We heard from Graham on ‘jump day’:

“I woke up early to the most amazing sunrise, so I went for a jog around the airfield to stretch out my cramped up legs.

“From nowhere the mist starts to roll in, so begins a frustrating three hour wait of coffees and trips to the toilet. Finally the skies clear and lots of tandem jumpers make their way up.

“We enter the plane with my primary and secondary instructor at my side and the cameraman who is filming the whole thing. There are no seats in a jump plane – you just squat on the floor.

“The plane starts its climb up to 13,500ft and before I know it’s my turn to jump.

“You really don’t have time to be nervous as your mind is totally focused.

“The noise and speed are amazing. Up pops the cameraman in front of me and I manage to give him the thumbs up and check my altimeter. It’s then that I realise I’m already at the pull height of 6,000ft. All of the above took 45 seconds but felt like 20 seconds.

“Next, I pull the cord. I go to the count 1,000 – 2, 000 – 3, 000 – 4,000. I look up – I have twists in my cords. The training kicks in and I pull the harness straps apart and the cords untwist.

“You think your canopy is spinning but it’s actually your body. It is now quiet and really slow, a bit like a balloon ride.

“I grab my steering toggles and look for the airfield below me, but it’s not there because we were last out and there’s been a change in the wind direction.

“I’m way off course and no chance of making the drop zone.

“Great I thought – I’m going to end up in some farmer’s field!

“I can see my instructors below me have landed the other side of the hangers so head towards them and do what I was trained – just find a safe place to land.

“I landed, and now I have my level 1 Free Fall Certificate.

“This is Graham Machin Sky diver signing off.”

Katie Piper’s Royal Parks Half Marathon update

Published October 11, 2012 Fundraiser Stories 1 Comment
Tags: , ,

Lots of Virgin Money Giving fundraisers took on the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon last weekend (and you might have seen us cheering runners along by the finish line too).

The lovely Katie Piper has been keeping us up to date with her progress towards to the event last weekend and she’s been back in touch to let us know how it went:

“I did it!   After my 10k in June, I am thrilled to have completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours and 10 minutes.   I was a little nervous before as I’d not trained for two weeks, though thankfully, whilst it was a bit of a challenge to do the distance, I got round in a respectable time.

Thank you so much to all who’ve donated on my Virgin Money Giving page and sent me such lovely messages of support – your money will help The Katie Piper Foundation make a positive difference to burns survivors and I’m grateful for all you’ve donated.

Thanks also to the Royal Parks Foundation for providing me with a place.  Here’s the picture of me with my medal – so proud and happy to have done it – not showing you the picture of the enormous blister on my foot though!”

Taking to the skies

Published October 5, 2012 Fundraiser Stories , Guest Blog 1 Comment
Tags: , , ,

In a few days time Graham Machin will be taking to the skies, skydiving for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

We heard from Graham in the lead up to his daunting challenge:

“How did I end up signing up to throw myself out of a plane at 12,000 ft?

“Let me take you back to a certain Saturday in early August.

“I’d already seen Great Britain win three Olympic gold medals when in one magical hour saw Jess Ennis show us why she was the poster girl of the games winning gold in the heptathlon. This was followed by Greg Rutherford becoming the first Brit since Lynn Davies in 1964 to win a gold in the long jump. Then of course came Mo Farah.

“About an hour later after tucking into more wine gums and ice cream it hit me-what have I ever done? I thought the Olympics was supposed to inspire a younger generation, not some  middle-aged,  slightly over-weight granddad approaching 50. Inspired by these athletes I decided to do something for charity – the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

“They do an amazing  job, made even more amazing by the fact that they are not state funded. Can you imagine calling for an ordinary ambulance and being told sorry you can’t have one because they haven’t raised enough money from the public?!

“After choosing the charity, I knew straight away it would have to be something that either a lot of people couldn’t do or wouldn’t want to do for people to really to support me. After a couple of weeks of looking at various ideas  I ending up looking into skydiving .

” I decided to do a Free Fall Level 1 skydive which is the most they will let brave or daft first timers like me do. Basically I jump out of the plane with two instructors at my side, free fall a few thousand feet and when they tell me open my chute and then I’m guided down by another instructor on the ground.

“Having booked it all up I decided to make this spoof training video which gave everyone a laugh.

“It’s getting really close now, and I cant wait to do it. You can sponsor me on my fundraising page.

Blog categories

Enter your email address to subscribe to the Virgin Money Giving blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 224 other followers

Quick Links


Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Subscribe to our RSS feed Watch Youtube Videos Watch Vimeo Videos Our photos on Flickr

Latest Tweets

Photos from Flickr

a544f6cb52001de826f918f6ea7f4673_full

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

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

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

More Photos
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 224 other followers