Oarsome Oldies 100 Mile Challenge: 3rd June 2024

1 Village

10 Seniors

100 Miles

Inspired by the son of a great friend who recently rowed the Pacific, we are 10 village friends who have come together to challenge ourselves mentally and physically in aid of four charities we hold dear.

We’re the oldest group to crew the world-renowned “Roxy”, Rannoch’s ocean going RX80 flagship boat. The Oarsome Oldies will navigate more than 100 miles across Scotland, from the North Sea to the Atlantic, through the Caledonian Canal, River Ness and the famous Lochs Dochfour, Ness, Lochy and Linnie.

This five day trip is an enormous physical challenge but the Oarsome Oldies refuse to go gently into the night! We began training last spring, with stones to be shed, muscles to be developed, and thousands upon thousands of kilometers to be rowed before our start date of 3 June.

The Rowers are: Andrew Gates, Claire da Costa, Glen Senk, Keith Johnson, Laura Gates, Michael Parker, Nick Adams, Phyllada Breedon, Sarah Temple-Pederson and Sebastian Chambers.

The Charities we are supporting are:

1. I Can and I Am: I Can & I Am’s wellbeing double decker bus has been visiting schools since May 2021 and has welcomed over 15,000 visitors on board from more than 150 different schools, universities, charities and places of work. Cooking and wellbeing workshops on board the bus have lead to 80% of visitors to the bus saying their self-belief has improved. The charity offers all its work within state schools (95% of school visits) free of charge.To enable our charity to increase its reach we are raising money to run a second double decker bus.

2. Firefly International: Firefly supports children affected by the ravages of war. Healing, teaching and peace building. Firefly reaches 1000’s of children each year, with a focus on Bosnia, Gaza and Syrian refugees. Children don’t start wars - but wars take away their parents, wreck their schools, destroy their homes. Wars disrupt the day-to-day certainties that every child needs, wars leave scars that never disappear. And Firefly doesn’t leave when the fighting stops, Firefly stays to help heal the scars and bring back stability and certainty. Firefly teaches Syrian refugee children in places where there’s no other early years education. Firefly offer children whose lives have been torn apart by war a chance to play, learn, paint and make music. War goes on. Children still suffer, and Firefly has more to do now than ever before.

3. The Florence Nightingale Aid in Sickness Trust: This trust provides life enhancing grants to help people of all ages who are ill, convalescing or disabled. Donations are used to provide medical and household aids to alleviate sickness and they make a huge difference to these peoples' ability to manage at home and live as independently as possible.The aids supplied are extensive, ranging from wheelchairs, washing machines, refrigerators for essential drug storage to riser recliner chairs. The need has never been greater than now.

4. Friends of St Margaret's Church: The Friends of St. Margaret’s support the preservation, repair and maintenance of the fabric and furnishing of Corsley’s St. Margaret’s Church. Our goal is for the whole of the village to enjoy the church by making it more inclusive and accessible for a wide range of events. Our church is the true centre of the community and is in need of our assistance since parish churches do not receive financial support for repairs from the Church of England or the Government.