2008 so far...

With just one event left in the 2008 Challenge Series, we can reflect on what has so far been a fantastic season. The Challenge calendar this year has been diverse, with events taking place in Ireland, as well as England, Wales and Scotland and a final 3 Peaks Challenge in Spain to take place later this month. The 2008 Challenge Series has also been a great success for CARE: the fundraising total has reached a fantastic £1.1 million!

Participants have trained hard, fundraised hard and partied hard, with hundreds of exhausted but elated challenge participants celebrating their success at various post-event parties throughout the summer. We’ve had weather conditions that ranged from idyllic to nightmarish, and participants making it over finish lines by any means from crawling to cartwheeling, with tears and laughter in equal measure. As one participant put it, following the 24 Peaks Challenge in June: “A pretty gruelling challenge but when you realise the significance of what you’re doing it makes it all worthwhile.”

Each participant from the Challenge Series so far will now have a treasury of memories, of both struggles and highlights, to look back on. The Challenge Team have had many e-mails and letters describing the high points of your events, from the benefits felt from training as a team alongside friends and colleagues, to the euphoria of crossing the finish line; from the fun that was had at the post-event parties to the satisfaction of knowing that all your efforts have made a big difference to people who face enormous challenges of their own every day. For CARE, the highlight has been the funds you’ve all raised.

The top fundraising event this year was the 24 Peaks Challenge supported by Lexicon Partners, which raised a staggering £260,000. This was perhaps the most demanding UK-based event in the Challenge Series, covering 24 peaks in as many hours. Couple this with high winds and poor visibility, and you’ve got 21 intrepid teams who really earned these funds! Lexicon Partners generously topped up the fundraising by another £10,000 in addition to their fantastic support of the event.

Matthew Lindsay-Clark, Managing Director of Lexicon, said, “Lexicon Partners are proud to have worked alongside CARE on a hugely successful event this year. The CARE 24 Peaks Challenge was really tough but the CARE team made sure that we were all properly prepared, had been well briefed and got round safely.  It was enormously enjoyable and it is extremely satisfying to know that the money raised from everyone's efforts is doing so much good.”

Of the Challenge Series as a whole, CARE Challenge Sponsorship Manager Michele Evans said, “It’s been a fantastic season. Our enormous thanks go to event sponsors Lexicon Partners, Prima Solutions, Kaplan and Starbucks, whose support made their respective events so tremendously valuable to CARE. We’d also like to thank media partners ITE Moda, Computer Weekly and Square Mile Magazine, whose support has also been instrumental in the success of our season. Our Challenge volunteers have also been marvellous- thanks to them our events were smooth, safe and cost-efficient. And of course, to all our 2008 participants- an enormous thank you for your magnificent efforts. We hope to see you again next year!”