A 15-strong fundraising team from East Anglia’s professional recruitment consultancy Pure have smashed their fundraising target and raised over £6,000 for local bereavement charity Stars by completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

The intrepid hiking team, made up of team members from Pure’s four offices in Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich, and Chelmsford, set out on the challenge of climbing the three mountains on Saturday 12 May. They completed all three peaks in an impressive 13 hours, walking a total of 24 miles from 7.30am in the morning through to 9 pm in the evening.  

The fundraising mission was organised by Caroline Batchelor, Director at Pure, in aid of the Cambridge office’s chosen charity; bereavement support service Stars. Having originally set a target of raising £5,000 by completing the Three Peaks challenge, and a series of charity events leading up to the hike, the team have already raised over £6,000 with more donations still being received.

Caroline Batchelor said: “There were a lot of blisters and we even had to patch up a few pairs of shoes with gaffer tape, but more importantly there was an overwhelming supportive team spirit and a lot of laughter along the way. Completing charity challenges like this really brings people together, especially as many of our team had never done anything like this before. You have to work as a team to support and be kind to each other, which also reflects Pure’s own company values. Everyone felt a real sense of achievement and many of the team have been inspired to do more hill walking in the future.”

As well as Caroline, Team Stars was made up of Pure team members: Ben Farrow, David Culley, Caroline Meeson, Nadia Mullins-Hills, Annette Wyld, Angel Huizar, Tom Earl, Ian Walters, Ellie Steinfeldt and Viktoriya Vladimirova. The team was also joined by Christina Youell, Director at People & Performance, the strategic HR consultancy which works in partnership with Pure to deliver the Women’s Leadership Programme, and mindfulness and wellbeing coach Louise Lloyd, a regular guest speaker at Pure events, plus two of Caroline’s friends Gail Cunningham and Jacqui Watson.

Stars provide support and counseling for any child or young person in Cambridgeshire who has or is expecting to, lose a parent or someone close to them. Its services are provided free of charge and as an independent charity, it relies on charitable donations to continue its work.

Caroline added: “Everyone will experience bereavement during their life, but for young people, the death of a parent or another important person in their lives can be extremely difficult to deal with. Stars provide much-needed support and counseling for young people facing grief, giving them support from someone outside of the family and a chance to express their difficult emotions. Thank you to everyone who has donated and supported us. The money we have raised will mean 12 more children can receive counseling and move towards a better future.”

For more information about Stars click here or to donate to the Pure team’s fundraising click here