FEBRUARY 2010: Winter climb of Mt. Toubkal for Acorns Children's Hospice, raising £6,500
Acorns Children’s Hospice are the sole beneficiary of money raised for a winter climb of Mount Toubkal, part of the High Atlas Mountains and the highest peak in Northern Africa.
A real sense of achievement
Background and training
Ivan Smart and Dave Marlow were under the instruction of Squadron Sergeant-Major Marcus Heslop of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2RTR) during their training.
This involved extended trips to Snowdonia during January & February 2010. A winter climb of this altitude presented its own problems compared to a normal trek.
W. Bro David Butcher Prov.AGDC, who is a member of Greville Lodge, the event patron and Vice Chairman of Acorns said “The Sergeant-Major will ensured that they are fit for the climb and prepared for the cold weather. However both suffered from the effects of altitude sickness which they were unable to train for or even knew how they would be effected. We are extremely grateful for their efforts”
The pair intended to raise at least £4,167, One Pound for every Metre of the Mountains height and a total sum close to that required every day to run just one of Acorns three hospices , to enable them to care for approximately 600 children with life limiting conditions. But by the close of fundraising the figure is £6,500 !!!!
The Team are pictured above with Chris Reed, Head of Care at Acorns Birmingham, during a recent visit to the Selly Oak Hospice.
Our route to the top !!!
Setting off, Day 1, Toubkal Ahead. Its all walking from here........
c.300M vertical still to go - A steep assent from the overnight camp to the summit. Progress across the near 2 Miles of snow fields is painfully slow at less than 0.5MPH
...all in a good cause
About Acorns
Acorns Children’s Hospice cares for children and young people who have life limiting and life threatening conditions across the heart of England.
This means they are unlikely to reach adulthood as a cure for their condition cannot be found. Acorns provides short break, emergency and end-of-life care, with a community team to support the family 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Acorns has helped well over 1,500 families in the last 21 years. We are currently supporting over 500 children and families but there are an estimated 1,600 families in our catchment area who meet our criteria.
Acorns has three 10 bed hospices: Acorns in Birmingham (situated in Selly Oak), Acorns in the Black Country (situated in Walsall) and Acorns for the Three Counties (situated in Worcester).
The hospices are designed to be a home-from-home in order to help children enjoy their stay and make the most of every day. Games rooms, soft-play areas, gardens and lots of toys ensure a happy stay. The hospices have therapeutic facilities such as hydrotherapy pools and multi-sensory rooms. Special adolescent wings ensure privacy for older children.
We urgently need your support to help us fund our care. We cannot change the fact that a child will die but we can provide specialist care for them.
Please help Acorns to support local life limited children to make the most of their short lives and provide support for their families.
Local Support
John Maples MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, David Strudley Chief Executive for Acorns Childrens Hospice and Ivan Smart
John Maples stepped down as an MP in the 2010 General Election, however we would like to thank him for the support he gave Acorns and all the local charities while in office - we wish him all the very best
