Desert trekkers raise more than £100,000 for Stars Appeal
They did the trip in April
35 people who trekked across the Jordan desert in April this year has raised more than £100,000 for the Salisbury District Hospital's charity.
The Stars Appeal trek to Petra saw the group battle 40 degree heat and climb mountains across 106 kilometres of open land.
They held their cheque presentation last night (Wednesday 15th June) at Salisbury Cathedral.
Their fundraising efforts were affected by the pandemic, as the trek was originally planned to take place in 2021, but had to be postponed.
The final total raised was £101,310.56.
Organiser and trekker Jo Maslen said:
“Nothing in our training could have prepared us for those temperatures – they were around 10° higher than the norm for this time of year. says Jo Maslen, the volunteer who organises the treks for the Stars Appeal.
“Our regular trekkers, who’ve dealt with heat, harsh terrain and altitude in our previous treks, all agreed this was the toughest yet.
“Our trekkers have really shown they’re made of strong stuff, but we couldn’t have succeeded in this challenge without supportive friends and families and generous sponsors at home, and our Discover Adventure leaders and doctor and the local crew (including the lovely donkeys) in Jordan.”
Plans are now already underway for the next big trek for the Stars Appeal.
Anyone who signs up will be visiting The Lost City in Columbia.
That trek will take place in April 2024.
To find out more, visit the Stars Appeal website.