Meet Sarah Miller, first-time trekker
The Great Wall of China, October 2009
by Sarah Miller
For anyone thinking of taking on a trek but not sure where to start here's how Sarah Miller from Kinross made it happen.. In less than five months she raised over £4000 for her first charity trek - along the Great Wall of China which she completed in October. Read on and be inspired!
Hi, my name is Sarah, I am a 26 year old Scot who after studying psychology at Aberdeen University left the UK for pastures new. I spent four years living on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland and for three of those years I worked in a school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
During Christmas 2008 I realised I needed a challenge for 2009, something to focus on, to help me get fitter and ideally to help change the lives of others at the same time! That's where the idea of trekking the Great Wall of China came up!
My target was £2800 and in order to raise such a large amount I broke it down into smaller action plans.
Get Online
My first step was to set up a justgiving webpage as it a simple and secure way for people to donate and support me. Justgiving process my donations, reclaim gift aid from the government for all sponsors who are UK tax payers and send the collected amount to the charity on my behalf.
Quiz Time at Easter
To set the ball rolling I then organised a fun Easter quiz at work (Norwich Union). I charged 50p an entry and received a lot of interest! I also offered creme eggs and mini eggs to all those who donated and enrolled the help of my colleague Nicola to go around the office wearing Easter themed bonnets and shaking out collection tins! Our efforts were well received and I raised a grand total of £203.28.
Tackling Fitness
I was well aware that I would have to prepare myself physically. I had to build up a good level of fitness for this trek as I wouldl be walking continuously for up to 8 hours a day, and there would be many steep climbs en-route.I found a local personal trainer called Oliver who put me through my paces. He created an exercise programme that was specific to my ability and goals but was also very varied which keeps me motivated. It was hard work at times but I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it!
Cars, cakes and cultivating
I was busy car washing, cake baking and gardening for the neighbours in return for donations. I am glad to say my fundraising box was begining to get full so I decided it was time to pay the bank a visit. Combining this with the money raised from my Easter event at work I deposited £358.28 into the Society's account this morning. I have also received £90 in donations on my "justgiving" website so far so have reached a grand total of £448.28
Prize Search
I was on holiday for a few weeks and when I returned I was hoping to find lots of responses to my raffle prize appeal waiting for me. Sadly the 50 odd letters I sent out seem to have been lost, not passed to the appropriate managers or generally discarded. I was a little despondent but soon realised further action was required! I made return visits to local businesses and umpteen phone calls to managers and my efforts finally paid off.
Swear Box
My parents spent the day with friends from the Morgan Car Club down in Peeblesshire and one of the party, Irene, had the great idea of a swear box. She brought a custom made box with her and any person who slipped up during the meal was made to donate to my challenge. This raised £38!
Ask the Boss
Today I opened a golden envelope ..... it contained a cheque from Aviva, my employer, for £350 through their matched giving scheme towards my cause! I was ecstatic because this extremely generous donation met I have raised over a £1000 and am two thirds of the way towards my target!
Dance On
In June I finally booked a band to provide the Scottish music for my ceilidh in July. It was a great success! The venue was perfect, the band fantastic and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves enormously! I sold over 70 tickets and raised over £630 - total now over £2000! I am delighted!
Pack your Bags
Yesterday 7 volunteers (myself included) got together at the brand new Sainsburys store in Kinross to help customers pack their groceries.
On your Bike
With just six weeks until D day, my training really needs to step up a gear! I have been making noticeable improvements in terms of strength and stamina but now need to focus on my endurance. Having said that I have managed to fit in more time on the hills recently and have just returned from a 18mile cycle run around the local area,
Raffle Time
I arranged to hold a raffle at my place of work on Friday 4th September with tickets being on sale all week (50p for one, £2 for a strip of five). I designed some posters to be displayed around the office and there were some great prizes up for grabs.
Body Beautiful
As one final event before TREKCHINA, I planned a Body Shop Soiree at home with a percentage of the total value of goods sold going towards my fundraising. The evening consisted of personal pampering, product sampling, a buffet, a preview of the Sparkly Christmas Catalogue.
Those were just some of the ups and downs along the fundraising way - read the full story here: www.sassie09.blogspot.com
A TREMENDOUS EFFORT AND WELL DONE SARAH!
01259 720044