Nursery manager takes on the Three Peaks Challenge for charity
Nursery Manager, Gemma from Bright Horizons St Mary’s Day Nursery and Preschool in Abingdon, has completed the Three Peaks Challenge where she climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Mount Snowdon over the weekend to fundraise for The Bright Horizons Foundation for Children.
The challenge started on Saturday 1st July and was completed on Sunday 2nd July where Gemma climbed approximately 32 miles in total. Her journey began on Saturday morning as part of an organised group, who started the challenge at Ben Nevis which took a total of five hours to complete the 1,345-metre climb.
She then had to get a transfer, which was a six-hour drive to the Lake District where she took on the 987 metre climb up Scafell Pike taking a total of four hours to finish. Lastly, she took her final transfer which was a four-hour drive to Wales where she completed the 1,085 metre climb up Mount Snowdon which was completed in five hours.
Completing the three peaks is the first part of an epic climbing challenge that Gemma has planned this year. In September she is set to take on the mammoth climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Her efforts are all to continue fundraising for a charity close to her heart, The Bright Horizons Foundation for Children.
The Foundation helps to create Bright Spaces, which are safe, warm, and nurturing play areas, specially designed to bring joy and a sense of normality to children facing extremely difficult situations. They can be found in domestic abuse refuges, homeless shelters, prisons, and police stations throughout the UK.
Gemma wanted to take on these extreme challenges after having experienced a difficult past six years where she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Breast Cancer in 2016. After undergoing intense treatment for 12 months, she was finally given the all clear. She then received the news her dad had been diagnosed with a high-grade throat cancer in 2021 which had an impact on herself and her family. Thankfully, he is celebrating being in remission for two years. Then in March 2022 Gemma’s best friend, Andy, was killed in a tragic accident.
Gemma said: “Those years were extremely difficult and upsetting for me, and after Andy’s death I was absolutely devastated, but it also made me realise I need to make the most of my life and live it to the fullest! Which is why I wanted to take on so many challenges and dedicate them to the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, which is an incredibly important cause that supports vulnerable children.
“The Three Peaks Challenge was incredibly hard but extremely rewarding to complete, especially knowing I did it for such a great cause and raising money to continue their mission making a difference to the lives of children and families.”
Gemma has so far raised £2,705 from her trekking efforts. To donate to Gemma’s challenge, you can visit her Just Giving page.