KMI 2010 Highest Fundraisers In very stark contrast to the blizzard conditions of last year the sun was shining at the foot of Ben Nevis in Fort William for the 3.00p.m start of the eighth COINS 3 Peaks Challenge. Setting off two by two, teams worked their way through the kit check, safety and communication briefings and onto the start line. After a quick photo opportunity with their support crews, teams started out on their first mountain, the mighty Ben Nevis and highest mountain in the UK. Most were full of excitement and anticipation for the challenge ahead; a few were wearing more apprehensive expressions. But all 41 teams were safely on their way by 4.30pm. The mountain summit is only clear on one day out of 10 on average, so the teams were spoiled with T shirt weather and the somewhat rare and breathtaking views. By 11.00 pm all were safely off the mountain and on their way to Scafell Pike (3,209 ft) the highest mountain in England, for the dawn start. There was quite a buzz in the air as the sun came up on the imposing view of the north-eastern cliffs of Great End and of the first section of the climb along Grains Gill came clearly into view. The teams gathered at the check-in tent to set their chips which capture their start time, before heading for Scafell Pike. This is arguably the toughest mountain of the three with a boulder field to navigate followed by sharp descent from Broad Crag and steep scramble, before reaching the most magnificent stony summit with its massive cairn. The sun continued to shine on at Snowdon as the first teams arrived and set out to conquer their final peak at about 1:30p.m. A few of the participants were sporting interesting walking styles by now – using the momentum of arm movements to try and propel them along. Meanwhile the children from Stepping Stones school www.steppingstones.org.uk travelled on the railway to the base of the final climb to the summit of Snowdon. Supported by teachers and parents the children made it successfully to the summit and then made it all the way down. Very well done to Ieuan, Daisy, Ryan, Jess, Albert, Lewis, Eloise, Joe S, Ola, Rupert, David P, Ebere, Mikhaila, Mary, Becky, Harry, Liam, Joe J and Amie - who all beat 38 of the 41 teams down ;) First across the finish line was Morgan Sindall in 18 hrs 50 mins: a phenomenal time and setting the new event record. Shepherd Construction were next across the line, completing the challenge in 20 hrs 47 mins. Third were Vinci team 2 who finished in 20hrs and 49 mins, along with the Illegal Two who also completed in 20 hrs 49 mins. Of the 41 teams 17 finished the challenge within the 24 hours. Slowly but surely, one by one the teams came though the finish tape to the applause of the crowd and were rewarded with medals and event shirts, that will no doubt help remind them of their success. Whilst those who had now completed the challenge started to tuck into a well earned hog roast, Ross McIver with his acoustic guitar, strummed out some great tunes as the teams continued to come in, with a special rendition of Happy Birthday for Danielle Stevens who celebrated her 20th birthday as she crossed the line. Ric Law, Chief Executive of the COINS Foundation opened up the speeches by thanking everyone in the marquee for their tremendous support and for the £234,000 pledged this year. He told the story of how Hannah and her husband who lived with their eight children and an adopted niece in Uganda. They were relatively successful cattle farmers but struggled to maintain their small herd in the face of persistent raids from the neighbouring Moroto district. When Hannah’s husband died it was impossible for Hannah to stay in Magoro and defend her herd single-handed. She moved with her children to Kumi where she turned her hand to arable farming. Growing a range of crops - cassava, millet, potatoes and ground nuts - Hannah feeds her family and makes a small amount of money. In the winter, she makes and sells mandazi (pancakes) and Ajono, a local beer which she brews herself. Hannah is clearly an enterprising business woman; although her total monthly income approximates to a meagre £15.00 she still managed to buy two cows with her profits, and these she was later able to trade for some land on which she hoped to build a house. With a bit of a hand up from the fundraising efforts of the construction and service industry,Hannah now has a new house. “With my new house, I do not have to look for grass every year because of the iron roof, and it will not be affected by termites which destroyed the thatch and wall poles of my old house”, she said. The house will help my children to have a permanent place to call home in case I die”, she added. Larry Sullivan, COINS Chairman and CEO, and also President of the COINS Foundation, congratulated everyone on their achievements and thanked all the walkers, support crew, mountain staff and COINS support staff for their enormous effort and contribution. Larry announced that over the eight years of the event, the grand total raised by the construction and service industry was now £2.21m. Whilst there has been a downturn in fundraising achieved over the past two years the achievement should not be under estimated. The downturn is very much reflected by the impact of the recession on the construction industry, the need is very much still there so the industry’s continued efforts are very much appreciated. Larry went on to explain where some of the monies from last two years had been spent. £50,000 went to Kawama Widows and Orphans School, Ndola, Zambia, offering 200 students an education. Funds raised by Lovells and COINS Ladies had helped fund this project and Lovells have now gone on to raise more than £125,000 in support for COINS Foundation projects. At a project cost of £129,000 Kiira View School, Uganda, was another big project providing education to 400 Students. Monies raised by Osborne teams during 2008 and 2009 had helped fund this project. More than £120,000 had been allocated to building 200 homes in Zambia, Uganda and Mozambique, helping approximately 1000 people and the 2008 /9 Costain teams had helped to fund this. Finally Larry talked about the troubles in Haiti. Guided by our patron Professor Paul Collier, funds have been committed to build 50 earthquake-resistant homes in the 2nd phase of reconstruction. A total of £80,000 from this year’s fundraising will provide permanent shelter to more than 250 people. You can find out more at www.coinsfoundation.org Larry announced that the highest fundraisers this year would be awarded sponsored places in the USA COINS 3 Peaks Challenge which is held across the states of Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. www.coins3peakschallenge.com/usa The presentations closed with the announcements of the top fundraising pledges: Shepherd in 7th place, with £7,500; 6th place JLT with £9,000; joint 3rd Longcross Group, RG Group and Bovis Lend Lease all pledging £10,000; 2nd Osborne with £12,000. Here we must apologise to Explore Living who were missed but have pledged a magnificent £12,000, so are in joint 2nd place. And finally KMI who stunned and amazed us all with a pledge of £40,000 – this pledge alone will build 25 houses in Haiti! The fundraising deadline to qualify for a sponsored place in the COINS USA 3 Peaks Challenge is 30th September. Places awarded will be based on funds collected on this date. Keep an eye on the Fundraising League to see how you are doing. The night then moved up to the hotel where teams continued their celebrations into the small hours and our reporting stops here ... Our thanks to all the teams;
Bauer Technologies, Bellway plc, Bovis Lend Lease (team 1 & 2), Chanton Group, COINS-etc, COINS – UK, COINS – USA, Costain (CVB), Costain / Skanska, Explore Living, Henley IS, Hewden, Hot Courses (team 1 & 2), Interserve (Leeds), Interseve (Cambs), I-Walkers, JLT, KMI (team 1 & 2), Longcross Group, LX Engineering, Mabey Hire (team 1 & 2), MJN Colston (team 1 & 2), Morgan Sindall, Osborne Girls, Osborne Boys, QFS Scaffolding, RG Group (team 1 & 2), Shepherd Construction, Sussex All Stars, Vinci (team 1, 2 and 3), LPR ( Larry/Paul/Richard), Illegal Two and the Leigh Academy. With very special thanks to Global Challenges for keeping everyone safe: Vanessa Bingham, Matt Randall, Sonja Grimes and Graham Lathbury, Global Challenges Associates: Lucy Haywood, Mark Ward, Nigel Johnson, Ian Mitchell, Debbie Phillips, Stephen Nelson, Tim Brawn, Jo Moore, David Lofthouse, Iain Dove, Iain Dove Jr, Ian Millar and Global Challenges Mountain Leaders: George Bruce, Donald Watt, John Mathieson, Mike Smith, Emmie Donaldson, Alex Graham, Louise Rawlinson, Sam Beesley, Alex Macgregor, David Cameron, Bob Owen, Daffyd Jones, Paul Cheshire, M Bell, S Hepburn, Chris Gilys, Ellie, John Malley, Karen Sturgess. First Aiders: Billy & Anne McMillan, Mike Armfield, Geof Tickner, Helen, Jenny Evans.
And a big thank you from the Stepping Stones children to Louisa Hoar, Ali Grafton, Liz Chumpitaz, Paul Johnson, Shirley Telling, Mark Ward, Ric Law, Maggie Shaw, Adrian Hoar, Georgina Saralis, Neil Clark, Ian Johnson and Claire Lecloss. 2010 Results Table View 2010 Photos "At Osborne we are committed to giving something back. We have entered two teams into the 3 Peaks Challenge for 5 years now and have raised in excess of £100,000 for the COINS Foundation. We choose to take part in the challenge because the good relationship we have had with COINS over the last 12 years means we want to support their efforts as part of the wider industry and because we know that all the money raised goes to really worthwhile causes. We also think the challenge is a great team building opportunity and gives individuals a real sense of personal achievement; we always have willing volunteers wanting to take part." Andrew Osborne, Deputy Chairman, Osborne
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