On Friday, 3rd June a merry team of staff members (plus their spouses and children) from Bideford College will be attempting to climb our Nation's great 3 peaks.

At 7am we will climb Ben Nevis, reach Scafell Pike by sundown to make ascent/descent before going full throttle up Snowdon to hit our 24 hour target. We should complete the challenge by 7am on Saturday, 4th June.

Ellie Hopper, Gill Huxtable, Chris Nias, Kimberley Gilbey, Darren Palmer, Debs Mytton,  Ellie Cox, Mark Ashcroft, Anne Day, John Maughan, Chloe Crook and Dan Munro will all be attempting the challenge.

To help improve our motivation during our tough training regimes and while on this exhausting trek, we hope to raise as much money as possible for:

Mind - the mental health charity.

Sadly, too many of us have our personal connections and experiences to share about the tragedies and suffering mental health problems can provoke. 

Ellie Cox, event organiser and teacher at Bideford College, said: "Six years ago my family life shattered after the tragic suicide of my Aunt. Jill had the loudest laugh, a shining creativity with her art teaching and was loved by many. She battled with chronic depression for too many years; heartbreakingly, it won and Jill took her own life. The devastation to her friends and family was monumental which is why I feel it so important to support a charity which filters its resources into trying to prevent people reaching such desperate times."

Alarmingly,  the rise in mental health concerns with young people is constantly increasing.

Bideford College's school counsellor Kelly Smith said:  "It is absolutely vital that we continue to raise money for charities like Mind. The mental health of children and young people in Britain is steadily declining and there is currently insufficient support to cope with this trend. Mind work to raise awareness of all of the issues young people are facing by offering training to those working with them and by providing much needed counselling and support through their website which is packed full of information for anyone with any concerns about a young person and is, of course, available 24 hours a day."

All the money raised from this page will go towards Mind and to support people with their mental health. As the charity states: 'we won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect.' (www.mind.org.uk)

Married couple Debs and Tim Mytton said: "The great British weather has been challenging at times (and slipping over on a huge muddy rock was certainly not a highlight of 2016!) but we are loving it! Balancing training has been difficult with working full time, but it is great to get outdoors each weekend and feel energised from walking the North Devon coastline. Fingers crossed the energy lasts for the challenge..."

As a unified team, we hold a belief and confidence that this gruelling physical challenge will be completed and the thought of supporting people with mental health problems will power us on. 

Please support us to do this. Thank you.

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