My daughter, Charlotte, and I will be taking part in a trek next year, raising money for ellenor.
On October 15th 2021, we will be flying to Borneo to begin our adventure in Tambatuon, in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, trekking an average of 5 hours a day, for 6 days. The terrain through the tropical rainforest will be steep and slippery, both uphill and down, with a number of tricky river crossings. We will be sleeping in jungle camps each night, in tents or hammocks, with food prepared by the local people. Although we are really excited about the trip, we know it’s going to be tough; it will be very wet (with an average of 28 days of rain in October), with the added joy of leeches, snakes and mosquitos!
At the end of the trek, we are treated with a visit to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, a sanctuary providing safe homes to orphaned Orangutans and other rescued wildlife. We have already adopted ‘Betty’, one of the baby orangutans, who we are hoping to be able to see while we are there.
Although this will hopefully be an amazing experience, our main aim is to raise money for ellenor, a charity funded by the generosity of its local community, offering care and support to families facing terminal illness in Kent. They are the only charity in the county that provides hospice care for people of all ages – babies, children and adults – and their families. My grandad was one of the first, if not THE first, to be admitted, and sadly pass away in the hospice in 1992. Now, more than ever, hospices are in desperate need of donations to enable them to continue their amazing work.
Our first fundraising event will be on Sunday 30th August in our garden between 1.00pm – 4.00pm, 10 Downs Road (corner of Long Walk). There will be a variety of stalls such as clothes (both new and second-hand), glass and chinaware, books and DVD’s. There will also be a fabulous tombola with new prizes along with a hamper donated by Broadditch Farm Shop and lastly a Home-made cake stall. We also have a number of other fundraising events planned such as another garden fete, a quiz night and a race night.
We have a number of fundraising events planned but, unfortunately, the current situation is preventing these from happening. In the meantime, we are hoping to hold a raffle, mainly, although not solely, for the residents of Istead Rise. Once we have enough prizes, we will offer tickets for sale via our Just Giving page and will be able to hand deliver the tickets to anyone living in Istead Rise. We are currently approaching local businesses, in the hope that they may be happy to donate prizes. If you are able to help with this at all, please feel free to contact us here or on 01474 832184; we can provide a letter from ellenor confirming that we are fundraising for them. If anyone would like to sponsor us on our trip, please visit our Just Giving page here.
Thank you and kind regards
Kim and Charlotte Barton
