Challenge Twelve; 12 Challenges....
12 Months, 12 Challenges, 12 Charities.
2018 is just around the corner. Every year I say to myself that I want to do something different, I want to change the way society thinks, I want to change myself for the better, I want to learn new skills and progress in my career, I want to help another charity, who will I fundraise for this year?
So whilst all of these thoughts and more go through my mind I started to focus on the fundraising and charitable cause I would donate to. But why should it just have to be one BIG "thing" that I do? Why not multiple?
After a lot of planning and thought, I came up with this idea; 12 months, 12 challenges, 12 charities. #ChallengeTwelve - crazy right?
What?
Starting from early next year I have set a challenge for myself to face 12 different challenges, once a month for 12 months in support of 12 different charities! I also won't be doing it alone, I will be accompanied by my sister who I am very close to. The challenges we have chosen range from leisurely, moderate, tough and very difficult. I believe it will put our mental ability and physical fitness to the test but it will also give us a feeling of accomplishment after the challenge is completed.
The total fundraising amount we raise will be split into 12 smaller amounts and sent to each charity that we have done a challenge for. We have currently set a goal of £12,000 which we believe we can do with the public's help, we would of course love to raise more money but every little helps and we are totally grateful for every penny we recieve.
Who?
My name is Fiona, I am 22 years old and currently reside in Buckingham. I have been fundraising and creating social media campaigns for charities for around 5-6 years now and can't stop! .
Faye is 17 years old and has always been passionate about wanting to raise money for different charities. She has never done anything like this before and is looking forward to challenging herself out of her comfort zone.
Below I will list the challenges we are committing too, along with what it will include, which charity we have chosen and why.
JANUARY - Tube Challenge, Charity; MIND (CONFIRMED DATE: 13/01/2018)
- January's challenge is a strange one to kick off, we have challenged ourselves to visit and take a photo of all the tube stations signs in London (all 270 of them!) in one day! You can follow our Instagram (@challengetwelveofficial) for updates every 2-3 minutes of the tube station signs as we complete the challenge on January 13th.
We have chosen MIND to donate to for this month because we believe that after the long rush of Christmas and New Year settling back into the old routine can have an impact on someones mental health. Having suffered with a mental illness myself I understand how lonely people can feel when they have no one to speak to. MIND is there to stop that, their goal is to #StopTheStigma behind mental illnesses and raise more awareness so that people speak out. If you need to contact someone then they are there to help and you can get in touch with them on: 0300 [phone redacted] otherwise if it is more urgent please go to A&E or dial 999.
FEBRUARY- 13M Dance Walk, Charity; Macmillan Cancer Support
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: We decided to change Februarys challenge from a food challenge to a 13M Dance Walk. For this challenge we will be dancing and walking 13 miles to a playlist on our headphones. We are hoping to dress in bright neon clothing, (because why not?) and dance the day away!
For this challenge we will be donating the funds to Macmillan Cancer Support whose ambition is to reach and improve the lives of everyone living with cancer and to inspire millions of others to do the same.
I personally have had multiple family members and friends close to me who have fought Cancer, some have beat it and unfortunately some havent. They are the reason I am supporting this charity and I want to empower people to do the same, to make a difference. You can find out more about Macmillan on the link above.
MARCH - Lost, Charity; Help For Heroes
- March's challenge is not one for the faint hearted. This will test our mindset, as well as our suvival and navigation skills. (We are definitely crazy!) This challenge will see us left in unknown woodland, without any location in mind and we have to reach a certain destination on foot over a weekend. This will be organised by someone we know, they will drive us to the woodland in a blacked out van early Saturday morning, we will then be given a map and a compass (no money, or phones!) and told a destination where we need to arrive at by a certain time on the Sunday morning.
The charity we are going to be doing this for is Help For Heroes; Help for Heroes supports those with injuries and illnesses attributable to their service in the British Armed Forces. No matter when someone served, we believe that those prepared to put their lives second, deserve a second chance at life. (Source in link above)
APRIL - 25M RUN, Buckingham - Oxford, Charity; The National Autistic Society
- April's challenge will be a 25m run from the centre of Buckingham to the centre of Oxford, this will be a total of 25.5 miles.
For this challenge we will need to train hard starting from yesterday to get ourselves physically and mentally ready. We will be aiming to complete this challenge on Saturday 28th April 2018 and I think by completing this challenge, it will make the challenges later on in the year a little more easier.
Donations recieved will be raising funds for The National Autistic Society, if you would like to find out more about what they do please follow the link in the title.
MAY - 50K Walk London - Henley, Charity; British Heart Foundation (CONFIRMED DATE: 12/05/2018)
- For May's challenge we will be taking part in BHF's organised event of a 50k walk from London to Henley, this will test our endurance and also our stanima. The walk will last around 12 hours starting in Spellthorne, we will then follow the beautiful paths of the river Thames before arriving at our destination Henley.
Donations recieved will go to British Heart Foundation to help them fight against heart disease.
JUNE - Tough Mudder, Charity; Fixers UK (CONFIRMED DATE: 16/06/2018)
- June's challenge will be the one that everyone is currently talking about TOUGH MUDDER. This time we are only going to be doing the half, to prepare for the full which we are aiming to do either later on in the year or in 2019.
For this challenge we have chosen to raise money for Fixers UK. Fixers is a charity which helps young people to use their past to fix their future, they encourage positive changes by motivational help and allow young voices to be heard.
JULY- Sky Dive, Charity; Thornborough Infant School
- July's challenge is a challenge that I have wanted to do for a while but been too afriad to bite the bullet as they say, it is indeed, a sky dive. Unfortunately my siblings are not so as ... ahem.. motivated as I but have still agreed to do it for charity.
The charity/cause I will be raising money for is my local village school. Thornborough is a very small school which teaches children from age 4 years - 7 years old, the teachers are very hardworking and want the children to be given a positive start in their education which will impact them for life. Unfortunately because the school is so small it needs more help with funds and holds many fundraising events a year.
AUGUST - Snowdon Moonlight Walk, Charity; SANDS
- August's challenge is to climb mount Snowdon at moonlight. This challenge will start as we watch the sunset dissapear and then descend in the dark with only our torches for light. I believe that this challenge will test our edurance again but also our strength. The distance is around 9.2 miles with an ascent of 970 metres, it will take approximately 7 hours and will be a night to remember for sure.
The charity that we have chosen to support for this event will be SANDS. SANDS is a charity that provides free support for those who are going through the death of a baby. They also have trained doctors, nurses, midwives and other professionals on how to help somebody in the best way for when their child has died. Being a parent myself I believe that what they do is crucial and the charity name deserves to be shouted at the rooftop (or on top of mount Snowdon) so that awareness can be raised and funds can be donated.
SEPTEMBER- Yorkshire 3 Peaks, Charity; Trevi House
- September's challenge is one which is quite popular around the UK, The Yorkshire 3 Peaks. The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge includes: Pen-y-Ghent (694 metres) Whernside (736 metres) and Ingleborough (723 metres). The route is 24 miles long and includes 1,585m of ascent which we aim to complete in under 12 hours.
The charity we will be supporting for this challenge is chosen by Faye; Trevi House - is a small new charity which is based in Plymouth. They provide rehabilitation and support for mothers who have a drug or alcohol addiction and want to change their lives, together with their children. There are not many other charities that are like this; which provide a safe place for the mother and her child(ren) together as well as addressing any issues which are concerning.
OCTOBER - 60M Cycle Buckingham - Cheltenham, Charity; 4Louis
- October's challenge is a 60 mile cycle from Buckingham - Cheltenham, this cycle will take approximately 6/7 hours depending on traffic and weather.
The charity we have chosen for this is 4Louis, their aim is to provide hospitals throughout the UK with a memory box for parents that are suffering stillbirth, infant loss or child loss. You can click on the link above to find out more infomation.
NOVEMBER - The BIG Sleep Out, Charity; The Big Issue Foundation
- November's challenge is another popular UK challenge which is organised by a large charity themselves. The BIG Sleep Out will take you out of your comfort zone to support Big Issue Vendors by sleeping rough for one evening.
DECEMBER - Santa Run, Charity; GOSH
- This challenge is an organised annual event lead by Skyline Events, date for 2018 is yet to be confirmed.
You can find out more here: http://www.londonsantarun.co.uk/index.aspx
Funds:
We will be fundraising for all these charities throughout 2018 in hope to reach our donation target. Please note that the full amount will be split into 12 smaller amounts and given to the charities listed above equally. This will most likely happen late December 2018 or early January 2019.
We will be posting updates of what is happening throughout the year and also you are able to watch live updates of the challenges on our Instagram @ChallengeTwelveOfficial.
We are currently creating a website which will have all the information on and much more.
If you would like to contact us please email me on [email redacted] or [email redacted]
If you have any other fundraising suggestions which we can do outside of Challenge Twelve then please let us know as we would love to help in any way we can!
Thank you for all your kind words and donations, we are very grateful.
Fi & Faye x
