Community Involvement

Sponsored Events are a Fantastic Way to Raise Money for your Favourite Charity!

A great, high profile way to raise money for Freshfields, is to get yourself involved in a Sponsored Event. Events come in many different guises, whether you are a runner, biker, walker, fancy a parachute jump, balloon trip or a traditional 'tug of war', all of these things get you out into the community talking about your chosen event and about your chosen charity.

Freshfields Animal Rescue...needs the publicity, needs the commitment and most importantly Needs Your Support to keep the doors of the rescue open. Annually we rescue and rehabilitate in excess of 1200 animals & birds across our two sites in Liverpool and Wales. We need your help to raise our profile even higher, so that those donations come flooding in!

Follow the link for ideas of the different challenges you can take up or alternatively why not create something that's all your own http://www.responsibletravel.com/search/results.asp?SearchType=trip&Activity=100111 .

Below are just a couple of stories from those who have already taken up the gauntlet, including rescue founder Lesley Tarleton.

This could just prove to be the Experience of a Lifetime!

If you would like to get involved then...Don't Hold Back! Freshfields can supply you with approved sponsorship forms and a T-shirt that shouts about Freshfields as the charity you have chosen to support.

A trek through the Andes

August 2008 saw Freshfields founder Lesley Tarleton heading off to Peru and a trek through the Andes to raise money for the charity.

Lesley says: 'It was a tremendous experience, though not without its difficulties. The nights were very very cold, dropping to sub zero temperatures and even thermals, clothes and a very warm sleeping bag made little difference.Trekking uphill with the altitude (12,000 feet) was not always easy but I was fortunate and had no symptoms of the altitude sickness everyone dreads. Many had severe headaches, nausea, vomiting and one girl had to be taken back down to base camp. I am not fond of camping so for me that aspect of it was the worst though a pleasant surprise was the hot cup of tea brought to the tent every morning after wake up call at 6.30 am. The porters and kitchen staff did a marvellous job preparing good food in such adverse conditions, a meal without dairy and meat seemed to afford them no problem ( I was the only non meat eater on the trek) Quinoa was used a lot to make porridge and savoury sauces, its a high protein grain very popular in Peru.

I was also pleased to see that the pack horses were in good condition and were limited in the weight they carried, they were turned loose to graze at every camp and if we stopped for a rest, they did also. A stray village dog accompanied us the whole trek and he was fed scraps by myself and another girl, our guide said he often accompanies the trips and at the finish he went back with the horses to his village, no doubt to wait for the next group of trekkers! He certainly was well fed and seemed to be happy with his lot in life.

On the last day at the last village we passed through, gifts of pens and small toys were presented to the children who live very simple lives in the mountains and only see such things when visitors arrive. It was quite an emotional moment. The stray dog problem in Cusco was quite horrendous but again most were well fed, nevertheless I wished there was an organisation neutering and spaying them. There are groups in other parts of Peru but nothing in Cusco as far as I could make out.

All in all I was pleased with my achievement but glad to be sleeping in my own bed again. So far I have raised £2,100 for Freshfields but there is some money yet to come in and there should be another £200 to put in the kitty.

I would just like to make a comment about this type of fundraising, it seems some people think it is a way of having an exotic holiday paid for by a charity. This is not the case, the trip does have to be paid for but the option is always there to pay for the wonder of the experience yourself. I paid more than half the costs out of my own pocket in order that more of the money went directly to Freshfields. The sum I mentioned is the total raised, with the trip cost deducted so its a fair sum and one I personally would have been unable to raise any other way. Another thing is that this was most definitely NOT my idea of a lazy break away! Make no mistake it was hard going and at times very difficult.

Freshfields supporters Karen & Laila talk about the great way they raised money for Freshfields

We successfully completed the 'Whole Hog Challenge' on Sunday 15th June 2008. The event was held at Alton Towers, Staffordshire. It was an eight mile race. However, it was a race with a difference. One had to complete mental and physical challenges along the route. The event was organised by 'Adventure Challenge Events' http://www.acefundraising.co.uk/wholehog_1.htm  I discovered the event when searching on Google for fundraising ideas.
 
Luckily, the weather on the day of the event was really warm and sunny. Most of the running was off-road through really pretty countryside. The challenges were many and various. For example:
1.    Climbing, or in our case scrambling, up a tree with the aid of a rope.
2.   Wriggling through a very long and narrow underground tunnel. We both felt a bit of trepidation when confronted with this challenge.
3.   Wading through a river section. This became progressively deeper. Initially, it was up to our knees. However, eventually we were up to our necks in freezing water.
4.   Struggling through a section of extremely deep mud. A few competitors lost their shoes here.
5.   An army style assault course, complete with rope climb. One had to climb up it, fling  oneself  over the top and then climb down the other side.
6.   Climbing up a steep bank to Alton Castle, again using a rope. Once at the Castle, we then had  to find our way through it. This was not as easy as it sounds. The inside had been completely blacked out. We couldn't see a thing. We had to find our way through by feeling along the length of a  string.
7.   Walking along the length of what only can be described as a tightrope. One steadied oneself by  holding onto a second rope strung overhead.

There were many other challenges… too many to describe in detail here.
 
Neither Laila nor I had ever competed in an event like this before. We did not really know what to expect. However, we had an absolutely fantastic time. We completed all of the challenges along the route. We refused to take what the organisers called the "piglet option" (basically, this is an easier form of each challenge or a time penalty). Instead, we just took a deep breath and got on with whatever was thrown at us. I think our energy and determination came from the knowledge that we were raising money for an exceptionally good cause. We were just glad to be doing something to help raise money for Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre. We are both animal lovers. I am a volunteer dog walker with Freshfields, and Laila's Mum is employed in the cattery. We think that Freshfields do wonderful work and we hope that they will be able to continue their work in the years to come.
 
The "Whole Hog" event was really well organised. The atmosphere on the day was brilliant. The organisers were very welcoming. There were marshals at each section, giving us tips and making sure everyone was safe. There were many other competitors. Many of them, like us, were beginners and aiming to complete the challenge for charity. All of the competitors were really friendly. There was a real feeling of camaraderie. There was always someone shouting encouragement at you, or giving you a helping hand, when you were struggling to complete a challenge.
 
The starter gun went off at 12.30pm. We ran over the finishing line, soaking wet and filthy, to big applause at 3.15pm. Although shattered, we were absolutely elated. We weren't among the fastest competitors but nor were we the slowest. Apparently, results will be published on the ace fundraising website. But to be honest, we are not really concerned with our time or position. We just wanted to finish. We wanted to run the route and complete all of the challenges to the best of our ability. And that is exactly what we did. I think the thing we will remember most about the "Whole Hog Challenge" is how much fun we had. We would definitely consider doing another challenge in the future. We would encourage anyone who wants to support Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre to get sponsored for a similar event.  You don't have to be an athlete; you just have to have a go. You will be surprised at how much completing an event like this will boost your confidence. Laila and I are still on a high!!
 
Having completed the “Whole Hog Challenge”, we set about the task of collecting our sponsorship money. Prior to the challenge, I set up an online sponsorship page www.justgiving.com/wholehog4freshfields
Our online target was £100. We exceeded this and raised £122 online. We also collected sponsorship money offline. Our offline total is £594. Altogether, we raised £716.