In September 2022, over 20 team members from across SCAS will begin the 10-day trek to climb almost 6km to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in a bid to raise over £75,000 for the national charity dedicated to supporting the UK’s ambulance community.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is a very demanding and physical undertaking which will see the team journey through dense tropical rainforests, all the way to the snow-capped peaks. The team, led by paramedics Quoc Vo and Juliet McGill, are completing their challenge to raise vital funds for TASC to continue providing services to support the UK’s ambulance staff, their family members and ambulance service volunteers.
Quoc said:
“The Coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on my colleagues, and over the years I’ve seen the difference TASC can make; they are always there to help us and I wanted to do something to help them. I’ve always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro and thought now would be the perfect time to tick something off my bucket list while raising funds for a fantastic cause to help them cope with the increasing demands on their services.
Even better is that I’m not doing it alone as several my colleagues are joining me on the climb to help raise money for TASC. This challenge is a year in the making. We’re not starting the climb until September next year, but the build-up, the training and the fundraising is key and starts now. Everyone is really excited and can’t wait to be on top of the mountain!”
Juliet said:
“TASC is such a great resource for us and I and a few of my colleagues wanted to do something together to raise money for such good cause. Climbing Kilimanjaro as a team gives us something to work towards and look forward to after the hard time we’ve all had in 2020. I can’t wait!”
The team are raising funds through their online JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/teamscas
Jasmin Rana, TASC’s Director of Income Generation and Supporter Engagement said:
“We’re so excited that the SCAS Team have chosen to fundraise for TASC! Demand for our services is growing year-on-year and in 2019/20 we provided 56% more interventions than the previous year. The team have set themselves a real challenge which looks set to be our biggest fundraiser ever, and the vital funds they raise will make such a big impact on the people help.”
Hi-Tec Europe Ltd, the creators of the very popular brand Magnum boots worn by ambulance staff across the UK, are donating a pair of boots to each climber to help them on their way.
Helen Durant, Hi-Tec Europe’s European Marketing Director said:
“We are delighted to supply the South Central Ambulance Staff Team with their chosen Magnum Boots when embarking on their Kilimanjaro challenge next year. We wanted to support and recognise the efforts of these individuals who been on the frontline during these unprecedented times. They are also raising funds for a worthwhile charity, TASC, The Ambulance Staff Charity, that supports Ambulance staff in their time of need.”
The event was originally due to take place in September 2021, however the organisers, Action Challenge, decided to postpone the event due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. Action Challenge said:
“With all that has happened this year and in consultation with all parties, Action Challenge has decided to postpone the Kilimanjaro Challenge for TASC until September 2022. It’s clear that with this group coming geographically from one area and all working for the same paramedic and ambulance organisation, it was just too risky to continue with the event in case of forced quarantine on the groups return.
We wish all the participants and the charity all the best at this tough time and look forward to the full resumption of challenges in 2022.”
Juliet McGill and Quoc Vo (SCAS challenge participants) said:
Support the team on their JustGiving page“When we first talked about climbing Kilimanjaro, we were excited to get started fundraising and training as a team. However, this year has been a very different one to what we all expected. I never thought I would meet so many new people over zoom nor be able to be part of some great virtual events like our PJ quiz in February and our Shredded event still to come on the 18th April and I thank you for everyone involved and all the support we have received so far. We recently made the difficult decision to move our climb date to September 2022. Covid has affected everyone differently and by giving ourselves the time to recover from this pandemic it will help us get prepared for some mountain climbing both with our fundraising and Kilimanjaro! All of us at Team SCAS are excitedly preparing for when lockdown ends and we are hoping to get everyone involved to maximise what we can fundraise for this amazing charity.”