Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page!   Please make a donation ... every little helps !!

As I'm sure many of you are aware, on the 9th February I am undertaking an expedition for 10 weeks in Costa Rica and Nicaragua with Raleigh International.

Whilst I am there I will be carrying out both community and conservation work which will benefit both the people and environments in both countries.

I am currently working full time and this is how the majority of the funds will be raised. However I am also carrying out a variety of fundraising activities such as Flapjack Friday where I deliver banana and honey flapjack to local businesses. This has raised a total of £47 to date.   I have raised £80 from a cake stall at the beginning of October.   I have also sold some books and other bits and pieces from ebay !!

I have also already received other generous donations, and I will keep you all up to date along the way of my fundraising progress...

I am also having a Christmas Coffee and Cakes Day at 31 Market Place, Snaith on Saturday 18th December from 9:30am - 4pm where I will be selling cakes and coffee in a festive atmosphere. Homemade cakes and festive treats will be available to eat in or takeaway amidst yuletide songs - an opportunity for everyone to really get into the Christmas mood! The more people that come the merrier, so please pop by and spread some Christmas cheer!

For those of you unfamiliar with the work that Raleigh does, outlined below is an overview of Raleigh as a charity and an example of the projects I could be working on:  

Raleigh runs expeditions in the UK and throughout the world with the objectives of the 'advancement of environmental protection and sustainable community development and relief of those in need by reason or disadvantage'.

It is a charity committed to ensuring its work provides a sustained, positive impact to the communities it works in. For example in Carona, Costa Rica, Raleigh volunteers built a new facility which was comfortable and could be used for meetings, assemblies, fundraising activities, fiestas, running courses (e.g. sewing), as a medical centre (for visiting medics), as a place to stage cultural events, dancing, and as a place for visitors to stay. The community valued the work that Raleigh did because 'the government had not helped them in any way'.

Whilst away my voluntary work could include working in one of the poorest and most remote regions of Nicaragua to bring clean and safe drinking water to 14 families. At present the local people get their water from the river which often dries up in summer or comes from polluted water sources. With other volunteers I would dam small streams and build tanks to collect the water from where it can run through pipes to all the local houses. Furthermore, I would actually be living with one of the Nicaraguan families and helping them with their day to day household tasks for the duration of the project.

In the environmental aspect of the expedition I could be working in a unique, protected area in Costa Rica famous for its nesting turtles. In 2008, 5000 turtle nests were reported from June to November on the 3km long beach on the Nicoya Peninsula. I would be helping with turtle egg collection and hatchery, constructing a trail that runs behind the beach and also reforesting the area behind the beach to protect their habitat.

As you can see, all the projects that I will be working on will be very worthwhile, benefitting the communities and environments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua first hand.

I really hope that you choose to support me in my fundraising efforts. Your donation really will be going towards genuinely needed, worthwhile and sustainable projects.

If you would like to make a donation please remember to GIFT AID it as this will allow your donation to go even further!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you again for taking the time to visit my Justgiving page!!