Every bit of money from fundraising and donations goes a long way to helping Feed The Children UK bring food, water and relief aid to areas of the world where children really need it. The money also helps to run invaluable projects in these countries aimed at a sustainable future. Below are some of the people who have really pushed themselves, mentally and physically in order to help these children.

Ian Spalding To Conquer Everest

Ever since he was a youngster, 40-year-old IT support consultant, Ian Spalding from Lower Earley, Reading has dreamed of conquering Everest. As he scales the world’s tallest mountain (29,029 feet) in mid May this year he also aims to raise much needed funds to help Feed The Children UK undertake its valuable work around the world.

Ian has been climbing since he was a child and over the last ten years he has seriously taken up his hobby conquering such summits as Gokyo Ri and Cho Oyu at 26,906 feet, the world’s sixth highest mountain – 2,123 feet lower than Everest.

“I have always wanted to reach the summit of Everest,” says Ian.  “Until now I have never had the chance.  Now I have got the time, I have saved last year’s holiday, this year’s holiday and I am taking some unpaid leave to go, I have got the ability and I took out an extra mortgage to realise my dream.  I am now set to prove something to myself!”

Whilst realising his dream, Ian chose to raise money for Feed The Children; he found out about the charity through his church.  “Children’s charities are close to people’s hearts,” says Ian.  “I have been to many third world countries and experienced the poverty they have to endure so I particularly chose Feed The Children because not only do they help children in this country, but they help children all around the world.”

Morgan Cole raises over £3,000 for Feed The Children

The weekend of the 4-5 April saw six intrepid walkers from across Morgan Cole’s Oxford and Reading offices take part in the 9 Peaks Challenge across Snowdonia, raising over £3,000 in aid of Feed The Children.

The team, comprising Nina O’Brien, Guy Constant, Jenni Howard, Rhiannon Jenkins, Susan Newberry, Kelly Brooks and their driver/chef Roger Bradley, arrived at the campsite late Friday evening just in time to put up the tents and head over for a nice hearty pub meal to set them up for the big challenge ahead. The howling wind and rain throughout the night dashed all hopes of any sleep, but the team nevertheless emerged at 5:30am ready for the first day of walking.

The event was billed as a "challenge", and this was certainly no misnomer, with the first day seeing the team walking for 14 hours across Carnedd Llewellyn, Carnedd Dafydd,  Pen yr Ole Wen and Glyder Fawr amongst others, through icy winds, up sheer rock faces and down (vertical) scree slopes to arrive back at the campsite just after sunset.

The second day culminated in a trek to the top of Snowdon, where the spectacular views across the Snowdonia National Park were a fitting reward for the four hour climb.  The night in a local hotel was certainly a welcome respite after over 20 hours of walking across the two days and enabled the team to exchange details of their hairy experiences with the other walkers from the Metropolitan Police who had taken part in the challenge.

The combination of raffles, cake sales and sponsorship efforts of the team raised a grand total of £3,225.26 which will be put towards Feed The Children’s "Stamp out Jiggers" campaign.  As one member of the team said "knowing that we had raised so much money for such a good cause helped spur us on through the tough patches and made the sore knees, stiff legs and painful ankles seem worthwhile (in hindsight!)".

Iris Nedio, who lives in Caversham, ran for Feed The Children in this year's Reading Half Marathon.  Says Iris, "The run went really well and I managed to finish it in 2 hours 12 mins and 52 seconds.  Not too bad for someone who is new on this field.  I'm still raising money for the charity and hope to get closer to my target of £2,000.  My fundraising page is open until 29th June, so I feel optimistic!"