Please see the update below - we did it - all of us!

Interview with Tina Riches:

Why on earth are you climbing Mount Kilimanjaro?

Upon retiring from paid work  I decided to help the tax charity TaxAid. I encountered such harrowing stories of how vulnerable people fell foul of the tax system, usually through no fault of their own, due to poverty, an employer or agency getting it wrong, understandable ignorance or occasionally due to other issues in their life such as poor mental health or homelessness. In each case they could not afford to pay for tax advice for the foreseeable future.

So, I decided I needed to do more to help Bridge the Gap (the campaign that raises money for both TaxAid and its sister charity Tax Help 4 older people) as my weekly volunteering and the odd donation was not enough.

So what is the plan?

I have organised a team of people connected to tax (aren't we all!), who also want to make a real difference. We are in training, ready to walk to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, at almost 6,000m, the highest mountain in Africa and highest self-standing mountain in the world! In fact from the base to the summit is over 5,000m (almost 17,000 feet).

We will be walking from the tropical rain forest at the foot, through altitude sickness inducing heights, to arctic conditions at the top. Action Challenge is supporting us all the way!

Who is paying for the trip?

We are each paying for the cost of the trip, so money donated
goes direct to the charities, after a small amount to JustGiving. 

Thank you for reading my JustGiving page. I know you will have lots of calls from good causes, but please do support us. Every £ we raise will make a difference, a real difference, to distressed people who cannot get tax help elsewhere.

Thank you!

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*** Due to the Covid pandemic, this trek was postponed from 2020 to 2021 and now to September 2022.  In the meantime, to keep fit, I've  -

• walked up stairs the height of Kili over 5 times in 5 weeks
•  run the London Virtual marathon and both Manchester and Cambridge half marathons
• completed many Joe Wicks sessions
• done several long distance walks including the West Highland Way and Kintyre Way. 

Now it's time for Kili - I hope you can support me or the team!

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.