The founding director of a Little Horwood company is leading a team of dads on a Three Peaks Challenge with a difference.
Dale Stillman, founding director of the Cashmere Centre on Whaddon Road, has roped in three friends to walk the three highest peaks in the Kathmandu Valley, to raise funds to rebuild a village school in Nepal.
The 2015 Nepal earthquake, which killed over 8,500 people and flattened entire villages, severely damaged the main two-storey building at the Jana Vikash School, rendering it unsafe and unusable.
Dale said: “Being a local company who import cashmere knitwear from Nepal, we have seen first hand the devastation whilst visiting the factory that makes our products.
“We therefore want to do all we can to help rebuild the Jana Vikesh school, which is close to the factory where our knitwear is made and was attended by 140 students.
“There are thousands of desperately needy causes across Nepal and tens of thousands of people still suffering as a result. As a group of four dads with children of school age ourselves, we realise that our efforts are best suited to finding a single cause that we can see through from start to finish and ensure the money is sent directly to and used by the people who need it most.”
The company aims to raise £7,500 initially to demolish and rebuild the building so the school can return to use.
But it hopes to raise well in excess of this sum, to allow the school to fit out the new rooms with furniture and supplies.
Dale and his friends Martin Carmody, Andrew Abbott and James Cartwright will be doing their walk in May.
All this week, staff in the company’s offices have been clocking up a marathon a day on a treadmill, to help boost the fundraising.
Visit https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/team431 or see Team431 on Facebook.