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Bedfordshire Scouts hike 30km to raise cash for hospice
20/05/2010
Within months of joining their Explorer Unit, four Bedfordshire teenagers completed a gruelling 30-kilometre hike through the Chiltern Hills in the middle of winter to raise almost £450 for the Luton-based Keech Children’s Hospice. The punishing Southern 50 challenge got the Explorers plotting a course through unknown terrain to reach their destination.
‘We wanted to show we care,’ said 15 year-old Explorer Scout Suzi, who led the team. ‘We joined Explorers last year and a group of us decided we would go for the big one.’ The team of four trained for two months over Christmas and the New Year but it didn’t prepare them for the real thing. ‘The mile long climb out of base camp to the top of the Chilterns was a killer. We reached check point one in a snowstorm and thought only another 19 miles to go.’
Barbed wire and blisters
Suzi continued, ‘At about the halfway point we made a mistake and found ourselves in a random field surrounded by waterlogged ditches and barbed-wire fences. We climbed out, sorted ourselves and got back on track. We reckoned that added two miles to our total.
‘Big Tom, Lucy and I collected all the blisters while tough guy Josh came through unscathed. We never found out why. It took us eight hours, 33 minutes to complete the challenge and we came in 13th out of 19 teams. After a hot meal we just crashed out on the floor in our sleeping bags and didn’t stir until breakfast. It was just awesome. It’s definitely on our to-do list for next year.’
Helping other people
It was in the planning stagethat the intrepid team decided to use the challenge to give back. They chose the Keech Childrens’ Hospice to acknowledge the important work the charity does. Nearly 300 relatives and friends contributed to the big fundraising effort.
A recent visit to the hospice crystallised the reason for the sponsored hike, as Suzi summarises. ‘None of us had any good idea what the hospice did so it was a real eye-opener for us when we were shown round. Two weeks ago I had an operation on my achilles tendon. It’s a bit painful but the staff at the hospital were great. As we were walking round it dawned on me that I knew I was going to get well. At the hospice children as young as a few months old are not so lucky. It makes you feel sort of humble.’
Staff nurse Laura Dove, who accepted the cheque on behalf of the hospice, said, ‘The Scouts are incredible. We’ve had sponsored walks before but never a long distance hilltop challenge in the snow. It was a wonderful effort and provided much needed support. We have 15 staff at the hospice operating a round the clock service. Just a fraction of our running costs are supported by a government grant so every contribution is welcome. Without the generous help from groups like the Scouts we would find it difficult to continue.’
Praise indeed
The hike challenge is organised by Greater London North Scouts and takes place in February. Organiser Chris Foster said, ‘What a team. Suzi has rallied her fellow Explorer Scouts with a challenge that has also given support to an awe-inspiring children’s charity.’
Further information
Keech Children’s Hospice
Southern 50 hike
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