When we were told we had to wait until 2 o’clock for our shift at Bag Packing we didn’t know what to do. With four hours to kill, some members of the group couldn’t be bothered to wait around, so I didn’t get a chance to meet them properly, but three others from the group stuck around with me - eager to do some fundraising!

We had a small bonding session over a breakfast bagel and then we decided that instead of wasting time and money eating, we would go around the shops, restaurants and cafes to see if anyone would donate. (These places are privately owned, so with the letter of authorisation from Childreach, which luckily I had on me, I could ask permission from the mangers to collect on the premises from their customers.)

At first, I found this quite daunting and slightly embarrassing, especially after rejections from many managers, however, my confidence soon picked up and I think that being bubbly enticed people to want to help us. I also discovered that if I said something like: “Would you like to donate to Childreach International to help kids in Africa and Asia…?” barely anyone gave anything, but If I started with: “I’m climbing to Mount Everest base camp to help raise money for Childreach…” then 80% of the time, people would give money!

I got donations from many different people, cafe staff, shop staff, jewellers…the list goes on.  The majority of the donations were small change, but one woman gave me £5 and another cafe emptied their tips jar into my bucket! Most cafe owners (understandably) didn’t let us collect in their cafes, but one cafe manager told me I could stand outside his cafe and pester his customers as they came and went! This was very effective!

By the time our slot had come for Bag Packing, we were already exhausted, but it was well worth the wait. It was a fun experience and I met so many interesting people and had some very random conversations!

Rosanna