Yes, I'm really pleased to say that I hit my £10K fundraising target on Sunday. I did a talk and slideshow to a Quaker group in Harrogate and they showed their support with a very generous collection for Women for Women International. Glyn and I went to Bettys afterwards and celebrated with a hot chocolate!
I've still got a talk to do in June and there may be a few more talks in the future that have not yet been confirmed. It's great to be able to continue raising awareness about the amazing work that Women for Women International does, and it's such a pleasure being able to show the wonderful photos from the trek. Another bonus of course is that it's helping me overcome my fear of public speaking!
I can't say thank you enough to everyone who's supported me. It's been a real team effort - you'll see how large the team has been if you look at the Thank You page on this blog. Although there are many more people - too many to mention - who have donated money, attended events, helped with the organisation of events, given advice, contacts and much-needed moral support.
It's also really great to be able to report that the Everest trek team has reached it's target of £100,000! This is going to be used to fund 3 WFWI projects in Kosovo, Nigeria and Rwanda. The project in Kosovo is a new Women’s Opportunity Centre which will help women graduates from the charity’s one-year training programme to access new job and business opportunities. In Nigeria, the money will help equip women with knowledge about their rights, the confidence to act as advocates and the skills to be able to earn an income. In Rwanda, the money will help train women to set up businesses in agriculture, animal husbandry, tailoring, jewellery or hairdressing. They will double their incomes and this means being able to send their children to school and the opportunity to employ others in their communities.
I'm so glad I signed up for this challenge. I'm not an adventurous person and don't often take risks so both the trek itself and the fundraising pushed me way outside my comfort zone. But it's been a fantastic experience for me personally and I'm gradually realising how much I've gained from it.
