This September, four amazing local charities are joining forces to take a leap of faith, and they’re asking the people of Stroud to join them.
Allsorts, the Nelson Trust, The Door, and Stroud Valleys Project are seeking fundraisers with nerves of steel to take on their Abseil Challenge.
The quartet of charities, who share a proactive and inclusive approach to work within the Stroud community, are inviting local residents to step out over the edge of Ecotricity’s famous headquarters and descend the hair-raising 50 feet to the ground below.
The event is being supported by Ecotricity and sponsored by WSP Solicitors and Randall & Payne Chartered Accountants.
Entry costs £20, which helps cover the cost of putting on the event.
Participants must be aged 14 years or over on Saturday 17 September 2022, and everyone who takes part is being asked to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship for their chosen charity.
Abseilers will receive a full information pack and support to help them on their fundraising journey.
Support from Stroud’s business community As well as the four charities, three local businesses are also pledging their support.
Ecotricity’s Chief Growth Officer Paul Sands said: “It’s great to be welcoming these fantastic charities to Ecotricity’s home, literally scaling new heights to raise money for important causes. We’re delighted to provide a 50-foot wall and plenty of applause for the intrepid participants!”
Randall & Payne’s Head of Management and Business Advisory Service Will Abbott said: “Supporting our local community is a key driver for our business. We are therefore delighted to support this super challenge that a number of our team are bravely taking the plunge to participate in.”
WSP Solicitors’ Marketing Manager Silas Miller added: “As a Stroud-based firm, we are very pleased to see four leading charities from the town coming together with key employers to offer this opportunity to local people. Perhaps more than ever it is important that we pull together to achieve positive change.”
Leading the way
Each of the four charities taking part supports Stroud’s community in a different way.
Allsorts provides activities and support groups for children and young adults with additional needs and their families in Gloucestershire. Based in Stroud, the charity has an inclusive Activity Hub which includes a Toy Library and Sensory Room. Here, members can borrow a wide range of specialist toys
and equipment and meet with other families.
The team at the Nelson Trust believes that everyone who comes to them has the capacity to overcome addiction and trauma, to put their past behind them and enjoy lifelong recovery.
Events such as this help make such change possible.
One of Stroud’s most visible charities, The Door has been part of the town’s social fabric for over 30 years. The charity supports young people and parents to overcome challenges, by providing them with a safe space to be heard and empowering them to take positive steps towards their future.
This is achieved through youth clubs, mentoring, support groups and more.
The charity currently supports over 250 individuals every week on a one-to-one basis with many more attending youth clubs across the district.
Stroud Valleys Project works with communities on a wide range of conservation and natural habitat maintenance projects. From building an eel pass at Arundel Mill Pond to planting over 5,000 native trees across the district; from monitoring Great Crested Newts at Rackleaze Wetlands in Cam to
working with the community at Bisley Old Road Allotments, each of SVP’s projects involves local people from the outset.
If you’d like to challenge yourself and take part in the abseil, either contact the charity you want to support directly and they will help you sign up, or visit stroudabseil.org.uk and follow the instructions.
Spaces are strictly limited and registrations will close on Saturday 3 September or once all the spaces are full, in order to give abseilers plenty of time to raise the suggested £100.
