Trek China 0907


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Fundraising total -

£117,500!!

We are delighted to say that we have exceeded our target and have £117,500 to share between both charities. Thank you to everyone who has so generously supported us!

TrekChina0907 had three aims:

to raise funds for two UK charities - Newick House School in West Sussex (a school for children with special educational needs) and The National Autistic Society
to raise awareness of the challenges faced by children with autism
to provide an opportunity to build links with a school for children with special needs in Beijing.

It achieved all three aims, raised over £150,000 (£117,500 profit was shared between our two charities) – and did a lot more.

Some final thoughts from Kevin Connell, organiser of TrekChina0907:

When I first created the idea of TrekChina0907 I never imagined it would be the success that it became and that we would do so much for Newick House and the NAS. A vast amount of planning went in to the project, but the way in which so many things fell into place - finding people with technology and planning skills that were key to its’ success and others who enabled the link with XinYun School in Beijing, showed that it was always destined to succeed. TrekChina0907 was a great opportunity to work with so many like minded people from across the globe. The efforts that they went to in order to raise so much money for the charities was nothing short of amazing and they deserve great credit for everything they achieved.

Above: Kevin Connell with his daughter Lyndsey

I could not have completed this project without great support from both the team and my family who were a constant inspiration. It is a great feeling to know that we all helped so many children, parents and carers - they deserve the opportunity to gain more confidence, experience new opportunities and have fun in the process.

Technology was a key part of the project and it's impact whilst we were in China exceeded all expectations. To be able to post blogs and pictures within a very short time of finishing trekking each day was a marvellous way of keeping in touch with those at home and the feedback we got (almost instantly) was a huge source of support to the team. It was fascinating and rewarding to see so many people happily sharing their very personal thoughts with the wider audience.

Above: Raising Awareness continued during the trek itself.

Judging from the feedback, blog comments and the huge number of "page hits" (over 200,000) the use of technology to connect the trekkers, supporters, friends and family was a great success. People across the world were "addicted" to the blog, photos and map updates - we even had followers on an Oil Platform in the Gulf of Mexico and at an Indian Engineering company!! On the trek itself it was wonderful to read the words left by those close to us back home: a highlight of our evening and morning routines. A particular highlight was our "live" connection with a special assembly with Newick House School at the end of our fourth day of trekking. We were able to send a PowerPoint presentation telling the story of the trek so far and set up a two way audio link. Hearing the voices of family and friends plus the enthusiasm and excitement of the children was an experience that left not a single dry eye in our group in China.
	TrekChina0907 raised substantial funds which have been used to support Newick House School in providing the best service they can for the pupils. Some of these funds have been used for a new minibus which is in regular use transporting pupils to swimming and other regular school events. Additionally they have been able to buy a great list of new equipment, such as interactive whiteboards, sensory room equipment, a play lodge and a range of IT equipment. Funds for The National Autistic Society have gone towards the telephone help line and support services for parents. Picture Left shows some of the team at XinYun School in Beijing
This experience has taught me that if you have the vision, can provide the leadership to those for whom we care and show the commitment, then you can achieve your goal. Those of us who took part in TrekChina0907 may be modest about our achievements, but our achievements were not modest. TrekChina0907 was a huge success and has made a real difference. Kevin