I've not taken part in much charity stuff recently, I put money in the the little boxes I pass but nothing on a bigger scale. So I have come up with an idea and have been formulating it behind the scenes, you may have seen hints of it on Twitter or you may have received an email from me as part of the planning process.
So here's the plan -
A Prize Draw in aid of Scottish Mountain Rescue and Mountain Rescue England and Wales, two worthy charities which support all of us outdoor goers when we need them. They are on call 24/7 on a voluntarily and they help hundreds of people on a yearly basis. They recently assisted a friend of mine that is a very experienced mountaineer, so it's not just the jeans and t-shirt brigade that benefit from their skills.
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| This image was kindly donated by @csbradders |
For the measly sum of £10 you will be entered into a Prize Draw that could give you the chance to receive a load of outdoor gear and paraphernalia, think Gadget Show just less techy. In fact there will be two separate draws. One male and one female, this is because I have a couple of things that are gender specific. How the non specific stuff will be split up will develop over the course of the month.
I have a small pot of things at the moment but there are companies and individuals that have expressed an interest in donating. As these are confirmed I will post them.
Nordiclife has donated a male and female mesh base layer. With winter on it's way these will be invaluable.
Vertebrate Publishing has donated two books: Echoes by Nick Bullock and Hanging On by Martin Boysen. Two award nominated books well worth a read.
Ian Macloed Distillers have donated a bottle of Isle of Skye 8yo Blended Scotch Whiskey. Isle of Skye Whiskey sponsors the Scottish Mountain Rescue, a wee dram to keep them warm when they are out on on a cold Scottish night. (Disclaimer: they probably aren't as they are professionals)
The amazing photographer that is Stewart Smith has promised one of his beautiful prints of your choosing in A3, framed and signed. The print will be one of only fifty that will be put to high quality photo paper. Below is an example of the ability of Mr Smith and an image of this caliber could be hung pride of place on your wall.
The man that is Chris Townsend has been in touch and has donated four of his very own, both written and owned, books. I may also chance my arm and ask him to sign them. The books are:
- The Great Backpacking Adventure
- High Summer: Backpacking the Canadian Rockies
- Crossing Arizona: A Solo Hike Through The Sky Islands and Deserts of the Arizona Trail
- Grizzly Bears and Razor Clams: Walking America's Pacific Northwest Trail
As a look forward Mr Townsend is putting together a list of gear he has tested personally, surely it is worth more tested by him than it is off the shelf?
The truly British outdoor company True Mountain have included two water bottles and from their sister company two Suprabeam V5 head torches.
From my own gear cupboard I have put in an LED Lenser head torch. The H7.2. From the site it has "a new upgraded CREE LED light chip, new multi-function Dynamic ‘wheel’ Switch and the addition of Smart Light Technology to work alongside the world renowned patented Advanced Focus System optics are just a few highlights of the many innovations integrated into this stunning Head Lamp."
Additional items that have been contributed to the cause(05/11/14) -
The Munro Moonwalker, Alan Rowan, has donated his 5 star rated book Moonwalker: Adventures of a Midnight Mountaineer, tackling Munro's in the middle of the night.
The passionate outdoor sports company Vaude (www.vaude.com) has contributed this fantastic Cheyenne 500 down sleeping bag. The mummy cut has an 80/20 quality down fill and is ecologically manufactured in line with the bluesign standard.
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| Image taken from Vaude website |
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As I said there has been other people expressing interest in the prize draw so I hope this bounty will grow through the month. It will be divided closer to the time of the draw into two bundles. And if there is enough stuff that comes in I can try and split it again giving more chances to win.
You can enter as many times as you like increasing your chances of winning but more importantly donating more money to the Mountain Rescue teams.(eg £30 = 3 entries in the draw)
So how we going to do the donating. This has probably been the most annoying. It was my hope to have one online charity donation site that would split it between the charities, however, it hasn't worked out like that. The way I have sorted it is to have a separate page for the Scottish and English & Welsh teams. So it might instill a bit of competition and raise more money, d'ya think?
Click on the appropriate link below the logo and lets raise some money for these committed teams -
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| Donate to Scottish Mountain Rescue |
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| Donate to Mountain Rescue England & Wales |
I've set the targets quite high and I hope they are manageable.
The draw will take place on the 7th December 2014. This is to let the people who have kindly donated and myself get the winners stuff to them before Christmas (yes I am thinking that far ahead). It will be done on a proper "name out the hat" basis and will be completely transparent. Please put enough details in your donation so I can get back in touch with you if you are lucky enough to win.
If anyone knows someone who can help or you can help yourself to expand the haul then please get in touch with me. Leave a comment or through social media.
I hope everyone can get involved and good luck!
Disclaimer: There will be people I know personally that will enter this draw and they will be treated equally to everyone else that donates.
