A Crown Group team, made up of the chief executive and three members of staff, has raised over £10,000 for charity after completing a gruelling six-day trek of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
The group, led by chief executive Charles Beer, had to endure six days of altitude sickness, little sleep and rapidly changing weather conditions as they battled their way to the 5,895m peak.
The team of four had been preparing for the journey since March when the final names were initially announced. Their preparation included regular gym sessions, hill-walking and even breathing exercises.
Beer selected three colleagues at random to participate in the once-in-a-lifetime trip; all part of the company’s employee reward and engagement activity. In addition, the participants were also given ten days of additional annual leave and free hiking boots.
The climb was arranged as part of the Crown Group’s fundraising programme for the Crown Foundation, its registered charity.
Relying on the goodwill of its suppliers, colleagues, friends and family, the money raised by the group will go to the ‘Make-A-Wish Foundation’ and the ‘Children’s Forces Trust’ - the Foundation’s chosen charities.
Beer said: “I am immensely proud of the team for reaching the peak. We were confronted with a number of obstacles en route but managed to draw on each others’ strengths to help us reach the peak - no different to running a business really.
“We are grateful to all of our generous sponsors.”
Jenna Smith, group buyer at the Crown Group, added: “To have finished the trek and reach the peak means an awful lot to me. It didn’t really sink in until a few days after we left but now I look back with a real sense of satisfaction and achievement. It was tough but knowing that your chief executive is around gives you that extra bit of strength to pull through.”
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