A team of 20 will take on the Challenge of Climbing the 3 highest peaks in the UK, the event will take place over the Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend, the Team will leave Hastings, East Sussex Friday Night at 6:00pm.

The first Peak to be climbed will be Ben Nevis (Pictured Below).  We aim to Climb the highest UK Peak on Saturday 2nd June at 6:00am.  Ben Nevis, the highest of the three peaks at 1344 metres (4409 ft), has one main path, marked clearly on the OS Explorer 392 map. Unlike Snowdon and Scafell Pike, the path to Ben Nevis starts close to sea level, meaning much greater vertical ascent.  We hope to complete Ben Nevis within 5 hours up & down.

Below is Ben Nevis

Once we have climbed Ben Nevis we will make our way over to Scafell Pike which will take around 6 hours to drive.  While Scafell Pike has several paths, most Three Peaks Challengers will begin at Wasdale Head, to the North of Wast Water. Paths on Scafell Pike are marked on the OS Explorer OL 6 map (South Western Lakes).  The team will be hoping to do the 2nd Peak in a time of 4 hours both up & down. 

Below is Snowdon

The team will have hopefully climbed Ben Vevis & Scafell pike in around 9 hours this will allow 10 hours of driving between the 3 peaks, if this is the case this will leave Snowdon to be climbed in around 4 hours (Predicted).  While Snowdon has many paths with varying difficulty, most Three Peaks Challengers will follow either the Pyg Track or Miners Track, leaving from the Pen-y-Pass car park, on the A4086. While this car park can be full at weekends, further parking is available either to the East, at Pen-y-Gwryd, or to the West at Nant Perris. Buses run every half hour or so during busy times, between all three car parks

Below is Scafell Pike

The first aim of the Challenge is to all finish the Three Peaks fit & well, although everyone will be tired both mentally & Physically, our 2nd aim will be to try & complete the National Three Peaks within a time period of 24 hours.

The Team taking Part will be,

Paul Harris, Tina Gibbins, Tony Harris, Jamie Podmore, Matt Ball, Duncan Jones, Dean Osborne, Ian Jarvis, Carl Denne, Christopher Beeson, Chris Langley, Gary Frost, Jade Sargent, Georgina Neal, Wayne Brown, Mark Corbin, Lucy Martlew, Norman Race, Ashley Paine

Below are images from various training sessions, get together’s and fund raising evnts. 

Thank you to all taking part in helping to raise funds for this great cause!  Thank you to Paul Harris & Tina Gibbins for the continued effort & support to the Charity.  Thank you to www.mascothire.net for the loan of the Mascots to help raise funds on Saturday 5th May 2012 at the Hastings Priory Meadow Shopping Centre.   Also a big thank you to Summerfields Gymnastic Club for allowing us to be part of there display day.

Donations can be made through the website & clicking on PayPal, Sponsoring one of the climbers taking on the challenge.  Donations can also be made through Barclays Bank.  Sort Code: 20 – 27 – 91 Account Number: 83094537

The session was donated by local well known Personal Trainer Paul Mccleery.  The 22 members who turned up was put through there paces from a gentle warm up leading to a hard but enjoyable Circuit, the training was based on a series of different exercises which target different parts of the body to give you a whole body workout!  The 2 hour session saw each individual burn around 800 calories and cover a distance of just under 3 Miles, the group was also joined by former  Sydney Olympic Gymnast Sharna Murray.
 
Paul Mccleery is a qualified and insured Personal Trainer (Dip.PT), Level 3 advanced fitness Instructor, qualified Indoor cycling ‘Spinning’ Instructor, and a licensed Level 1 UK Athletics coach.  He has been working as a personal trainer with clients on a one to one basis as well as running regular ‘boot camp’ & circuit training classes since 2009. 

Below Paul Mccleery

The morning raised a total of £100.00 which will go towards helping local Disabled, Sick & Terminally-ill Children from the Hastings, St Leonards, Bexhill, Battle & surrounding areas.
 
Charity for Kids Chairman Paul Harris Said ” It was a Fantastic 2 hour Boot Camp and saw everyone who took part smiling, before, during and after.  We would like to thank all that gave up there morning to take part in a fun exercise session, especially Paul”!
 
If you would like to attend Paul Mccleery’s classes you will find him at the  St Leonards Academy (Formerly Grove School) on a Wednesday Night from 8:00pm and at Hollington Gymnastics Club on a Friday Night from 6:30pm, if you wish for a 1 to 1 session please contact Paul on 07966 168857 or look on http://paulmccleery.com/Welcome.html

Charity for Kids would like to thank Paul & the 22 who gave up there morning!

Below is Tony Harris (Brother of Paul)

Paul part owner of www.1066mascots.com entered his 3rd Half Marathon, this time it was the 5th event in Lydd, Paul Said “I was delighted to be wearing the Charity for Kids NEW High-Viz running top, it’s bright & stands out, I like the design of the Charity for Kids LOGO it’s inspiring!”.  Paul recored a Personal Best of 1 Hour 44 Minutes he was delighted as he has only been running since 28th May 2011.  So far Paul managed to cover 635 Miles & losing 2 Stone along the way.   

The Charity was supported by Sam Frazer on Sunday 11th March 2012, At the last minute Sam decided to take part in his first ever Half Marathon (Cambridge Half Marathon), you can see him wearing the CFK Hi-Viz top & proudly showing off his well earned medal.

Sam finished the event in a good time of just under 2 hours.  He is a keen Rugby Player & loves all sports, for his day job Sam works for Wright Cottrell as a Sales Consultant in the Dental Industry covering the PE Post Code.  He hopes to take part in a Marathon soon!

Thank you Sam for all of your efforts!

The session started at 1:00pm by Instructor Carl Denne of www.hastings-kickboxing.co.uk 30 perople took part with mixed abilities and ages. 

The warm up

The sponsored session saw Kickboxers & Boxers from 4 different Clubs

2 Fighters come togeather for a cuddle

The 2 hour Sparring Session managed to raise over £200.00 for Charity for Kids, thank you to all that gave up there time to take part in helping raise funds for this great cause, thank you to Carl Denne of Hastings Kickboxing Academy.

Charity for Kids Chairman Paul Harris is 1of 5 people to take on the challenge of swimming the English Channel in August/September (Weather Dependant) 2013.

Crossing the channel is considered one of the toughest challenges in the world. In 2005, only around 79 people crossed the channel, whilst in 2004, approximately 330 people climbed to the summit of Mount Everest! The swim is around 23 miles across the Strait of Dover (between Dover and Calais), in water temperatures of 15 to 18 degrees Celsius.

Not only are we going to Swim from England to France, but we will also be swimming back again!  Yes that’s correct a 2 way swim, some people have said we must be MAD!!

We are only allowed to wear a hat, swim shorts/Speedos (no wet-suits!), goggles, earplugs and grease, we are not allowed help or any contact with anyone once we are in the water.  On average a crossing takes 13 hours 23 minutes, with the longest being around 28 hours 44 minutes.  There are only around 1179 people who have completed a successful and ratified crossing to date, and a 1 in 6 success rate since Captain Webb completed the first ever crossing back in 1875, taking 21 hours. The channel is also one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with over 600 ships per day. This is not the only hazard however. We will also have to watch out for hypothermia from the cold water temperatures, debris and even jelly fish.

Meet the Team

Paul Harris (Chairman Charity for Kids)

Being the Chairman for CFK I would like to say a BIG thank you to the team for taking part in this tough but amazing challenge, there will have to be a lot of commitment to a tough training regime, with this in place it also means a lot of time spent away from thier families!

With there being so few people who have achieved the Channel Crossing I am not expecting this to be easy, this is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done, It will not only be hard on our bodies physically but also mentally.  I have never swum in the sea so I feel I have a lot of work ahead, I hope that we reach our target of £15,000.00.   

 Chris Mepham

Chris is always busy keeping the people of Hastings (East Sussex) safe as he is a Fire Fighter, Chris has been working for the Hastings Fire Brigade for many years now, he is known to his watch as “Casper” he is very active & takes part in many sporting events including Cycling, Running, Swimming, Chris has also taking part in many Half Marathons raising funds for many great causes along with taking part in a lot of Triathlons.  When Chris is not working as a Fire Fighter he is a Tree Surgeon, so if you would like the services of Chris please contact him on 07932 746373

Garry Cairns 

Garry is 31 married with 2 children Amber 3 & Leo who is 8 weeks old, Garry currently works with Chris Mepham in the Hastings Fire Brigade (White Watch) where he has been for the last 2 years, he is known to his team as “The Hoff”.  This year will see Garry serve his 18th year for the Eastbourne Lifeguards where he keeps the town’s beech safe.  When he gets some spare time Garry tries to get to the Gym, but most of all he feels at home in the Sea whether it’s Kayaking, Swimming or Surfing, Gary will be one the teams strongest Swimmers & is looking forward to the Challenge!

Luke Sherwood

Luke is 21 years of of age & works for Summerfield’s Gymnastics Club where he has been for the last 3 years, Luke is extremely passionate about what he does this has resulted in him winning the Sussex Award for Young Coach of the Year (2011).  Luke likes to relax by watching Gymnastics, Rugby & MOTO GP, along with this he is also a keen Swimmer & used to swim for Seagulls Swimming Club (Hastings) for 5 years progressing through the different levels, with this in mind Luke along with Garry will be one of the stronger swimmers.

Jasmin Gray

Jasmin is 21 years old, a keen footballer and plays for Bexhill united ladies.  She has completed 4 sessions at Brighton and Hove Albion and 2 sessions playing football for Chelsea Ladies Academy. She works all other Hasting, Battle and Bexhill coaching many sports, including football and netball.  As well as coaching she works as a gym instructor and personal trainer with 20/20 Health and Freedom Leisure. She accomplished the Hastings ½ Marathon last year, Jasmin loves a challenge and will do anything to reach the finish line.

1st step made of Paul in a Wetsuit

 Chris & Paul took to the Hastings Sea Sunday 15th April 2012, below are the pair before they enter with water temperatures of around 7c

Below Paul & Chris getting to grips with the cold water.

Sunday 22nd April 2012 saw the Charity for Kids Channel Swim Team have there first get together, below you will See Garry & Jasmin.

 Paul & Chris on the way back in after an hours training session.

Charity for Kids, set up by Paul Harris and Carl Denne, owner of Hastings Kickboxing Academy, last August, had to raise £5,000 to apply to the Charity Commission.

Mr Harris, the organisation’s chairman, said: “We are really chuffed as when we started back in August we thought we would just raise a few hundred pounds.

“It’s really been full steam ahead for two guys setting up an organisation to help children. The fundraising has just snowballed.

“We reached the £5,000 target just before Christmas so it was a Christmas present come early for us.

“We now have enough funds to register with the Charity Commission, our application will start this week and is expected to take three months before we get our charity number.”

Some of the events last month alone that have helped Charity for Kids reach its goal include receiving a cheque for £853 from Blacklands School, a charity auction and raffle, which netted £1,510, and the police donating £250.

The charity has also been raising money for three-year-old Amber-Rose Sims, of Athelstan Road.

The toddler suffers from a rare condition called central sleep apnea, which means her brain stops sending signals for her to breathe. Amber-Rose relies on oxygen when she is in bed, and requires oxygen tanks to be carried when she leaves the family home.

Firefighters are currently building a decking area and landscaping her family’s garden. They started just before Christmas and are using materials sourced by Charity for Kids following donations by generous businesses.Charity for Kids also treated 20 children and four carers from the Conquest Hospital to watch the pantomime Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs at the White Rock Theatre just before Christmas.

If you would like to make a difference to local children and families then Charity for Kids would love to hear from you.”

If anyone can help contact Mr Harris on 07827 852120, Mr Denne, vice-chairman, on 07949 221946, or Tina Gibbins, treasurer, on 07966 446065

19 Childrem who are currently under The Conquest Hospital in Hastings, East Sussex went to watch the Christmas Pantomime Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs at the White Rock Theatre.  

The Children got a special mention over the sound system welcoming them to the show.  

Pictured from left to right, Paul Harris (Chairman CFK), Che Donald (Sussex Police) Carl Denne (Vice-Chairman CFK) Derek Poole (Sussex Police) Tina Gibbins (Treasurer CFK).

managed website – www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk.

The website sells lost property that’s handed in and not claimed after a month, seized goods, false assets, shop-lifted goods and so on.

Fourteen police forces currently use the service: Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Devon & Cornwall, Wiltshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Thames Valley, North and West Yorkshire, Kent and Cumbria.

Unusual items that have been sold on Bumblebee include an industrial fog machine, a brass diver’s helmet and crash barriers from Sussex.