Shrewsbury sisters put best foot forward for charity

Rebecca and Laura Jones, originally from Shrewsbury, are fundraising for the Help for Heroes charity and have organised a charity music event which will take place next month as part of the fundraising for a self-funded Kilimanjaro trek in 2015.

And they have already undertaken several exhausting practice treks in a bid to prepare for the walk - including climbing Scotland's highest mountain in gale force winds.

Rebecca said: "I am already self-funded by taking out a bank loan, and Laura is paying in monthly instalments through money earned by weekend overtime, as we want all of the monies raised by fundraising to go straight to the charity via our JustGiving page.

"We have paid our initial registration deposit online and secured our place on the Kilimanjaro Challenge climb, and have committed to raise a minimum amount of sponsorship for the Help for Heroes charity, which is close to our hearts.

"In addition to the trek, we have launched a series of fundraising events such as cake sales, dress down days at work, and bucket collection days."

The next fundraising event is a charity music event on July 18 at the Shrewsbury Beaconsfield Club, where local acts Stage 2 and Sue and Kev provide live music.

Tickets cost £20 to include a finger buffet. There will also be a prize draw.

Rebecca added: "We have done several local hill-climbs around Church Stretton and have invested a lot of time and money in training and equipment.

"We climbed Ben Nevis as training for the Kilimanjaro Challenge (which included an overnight wilderness camp) and shortly after this I was diagnosed with atypical pneumonia.

"I now know why I felt like I was dying trying to get to the summit and it had nothing to do with my fitness levels.

"We started the trek at the bottom of the mountain trail and arrived at the summit of Ben Nevis having climbed up the North Face using crampons and an ice axe, with my sister and her friend Emma Terry. We didn't hang around too long on account of the gales blowing freezing snow into our face."

"The Outdoor Depot in Church Stretton has been really helpful with advice on the most suitable equipment, and local businesses and Theatre Severn have generously donated prizes for our prize draw for the charity music event".

Tickets can be bought from Rebecca on 07582 569484, Laura on 07532 371993 or from their parents on (01743) 364545.

To donate to the appeal visit www.justgiving.com/kilimanjarosisteract or donate via TEXT. Tetxcode LJRJ78 with the amount to 70070.