Knight Frank’s Climb Every Mountain charity event has raised £21,230.
This pioneering event, organised by the global property consultancy’s Leeds office, was part of the firm’s global fundraising initiative, Day of Giving, to raise money for five chosen charities: LandAid, Rainbow Trust, Alzheimer’s Society, Contact the Elderly and Young Minds.
The teams, from Knight Frank’s nine offices across the UK, walked 3,000 miles and climbed 600,000 ft over the course of one day. That is the equivalent of 22 ascents of Everest from sea level (62 from base camp) or walking the entire distance from the UK to New York.
Knight Frank’s Yorkshire, Manchester and Newcastle offices joined forces to tackle the three Yorkshire Peaks (Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough).
Amy Wood, from the Leeds office, commented: “Too many charity fundraisers are about a handful of alpha athletes doing what they love doing, which is fine. Whilst yes, we scaled mountains and really stretched ourselves, the focus this time was about inclusivity and teamwork.
“The logistics of getting almost 100 people from our northern offices around the Dales with limited daylight and potential for bad weather was a real challenge. But it was worth it. The real beauty of the day was seeing people achieve their goals.
Corrine Travis, one of the main organisers, explained: “What we have learned is that people got more from helping colleagues than their own personal achievements. We therefore had three simultaneous challenges of between one and three peaks all coming together for a mass finish at Ribblehead.
“This approach meant that absolutely everyone got involved in a very vivid demonstration of what we can achieve as a team.”
Toni Poddar, also of the Leeds office who completed all Three Peaks, said: “When I signed up for all Three Peaks, I was really nervous about if I would manage the physical challenge.
“It was an incredibly hard day with a very early start. At times I really didn’t think I was going to be able to complete the Challenge, but my colleague Tom Goode was there with me every step of the way. This is an achievement I will cherish forever….without Tom’s kindness and patience I would never have made it. I simply can’t thank him enough.”
Wendy Kinghorn from the Leeds office added:” Before the Walk, Peter Whiteley was just the name of someone from our Sheffield office who I had never met. I was struggling on the day but Peter never once left my side. It took us a little longer but the sense of achievement and the cheer at the end was beyond words. A name and a colleague just became a friend.”
