Kilimanjaro climbers raise over £100,000 for our hospital!
A group of determined charity supporters from across Yorkshire and Derbyshire headed to Tanzania last week to climb Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, for Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
The compassionate trekkers included nurses, teachers, business professionals and families who have been helped by the hospital. They started as strangers with one goal, to make the facilities at Sheffield Children’s the best they could by raising lots of money.
The Kilimanjaro trek took seven days and featured climbs of over 1,000m, taking in difficult altitudes as well as tricky climates. The group were exposed to extreme elements, testing the group’s resilience with spells of hail and snow.
The summit trek was the most demanding, involving more than nine hours of hiking in freezing temperatures throughout the night. Despite the challenging conditions, they reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro during the early hours of Thursday 26th September, having raised over £100,000 for the hospital.
Scott said: “Summit night was by far the hardest part but knowing the difference we were making for young patients at the hospital kept us all going. Reaching the top together is an experience I’ll never forget.”
After they summitted the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, the team descended for 36 hours, rapidly dropping altitude levels until they reached the base.
Cheryl Davidson, another member of the team, who organised the event for The Children’s Hospital Charity added:“From start to finish, the trek was a difficult experience for everyone, but we thought of the amazing patients at our hospital and what they go through every day. They were the motivation when times were tough.”
Having completed one of the most difficult events The Children’s Hospital Charity has ever planned, it’s safe to say the team have become friends for life.
Another climber, Rachel Bearpark, who is a Health Visitor for Sheffield Children’s Hospital continued:“We only spent ten days together, but we’ve become one big family. You eat, cry and laugh together. We couldn’t have asked for a better team to share the experience with, all the hard work has been absolutely worth it.”
The more than £100,000 raised will go towards the Build a Better Future appeal, to help build a new Emergency Department and on-site Helipad at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, as well as transform the Cancer and Leukaemia ward. Find out how you can help here.