A children’s charity may be forced to cancel their big summer fundraiser after one of their key suppliers went into liquidation. A crane is urgently needed to save the day!
International children’s charity Global Care is planning a huge zipwire challenge at Rugby’s Draycote Water next month. A zipwire was to be suspended from a 30-40ft crane on the top of Hensborough Hill, running down into the country park, carrying participants over 250 metres at speeds of up to 30mph.
The unique challenge event already has daredevils signed up with more planning to join in, in order to raise at least £20,000 for the charity’s Children At Risk programme. But the entire event has been thrown into jeopardy after the crane company involved went bust last month.
Global Care is running the event in partnership with Zipwires UK, who have used the company on previous occasions. However despite all their efforts they have not been able to find another crane supplier with the right type of insurance. Most crane companies have let this type of event insurance lapse because of the coronavirus pandemic, when events such as these were cancelled.
Global Care is making a last-ditch plea for a crane company to come forward. “Please, please is there anyone out there who can help us?” asked organiser Anita White, Global Care’s Fundraising and Communications Manager.
“We are absolutely gutted, as we have already had to postpone this event twice because of Covid. It was originally planned for June 2020, then postponed again in June 2021 because of lockdowns, so we were so excited to be finally able to go ahead. It is totally soul-destroying to have to cancel it, and even more annoying that it is, once more, indirectly because of Covid. In a further layer of horrible irony, we really need the money – again because of Covid. Throughout the pandemic we have been using our Children At Risk funds to feed and educate children in desperately vulnerable communities through lockdowns and school closures, and we really wanted to top those funds back up again. If anyone can come forward with an alternative crane company or an alternative solution we would be so very grateful.”
Any companies which can help can contact Anita on 030 030 21 030 or anita.white@globalcare.org
