Leacsaidh Marlow
Choose a challenge (CAC) are a travel company who organise large-scale challenging adventure trips that allow individuals to undertake a challenge whilst fundraising for a chosen charity or cause. Every year hundreds of students across the UK undertake challenges, such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, in aid of their chosen charity, both providing life-changing experiences and raising awareness of important causes.
Leacsaidh Marlow spoke to Victoria, a challenge leader for Choose-a-Challenge at Bath University, who have chosen to fundraise for the UK’s student mental health charity, Student Minds.
What motivated you to take on Choose a Challenge?
I saw it as a chance to push myself while contributing to something positive in my community. At the same time, I knew I’d be surrounded by people who care about the same things, which made it a great opportunity to build real, lasting friendships while working toward a shared goal.
What has been your favourite thing about being a challenge leader thus far?
I’ve genuinely enjoyed being able to offer first-hand advice to people on my team, especially those who’ve never fundraised before. After learning a lot through trial and error last year, it’s rewarding to be able to use that experience to help support others on my team.
Why did you select Student Minds as your charity to fundraise for?
I chose Student Minds because it’s directly relevant to us as university students. Once we began fundraising, I saw how much mental health support was needed within my own team, which has made the fundraising for this cause so motivating and pushed us to give it our best.
What does Student Minds as a charity mean to you?
As a student who has spent most of their life outside the UK, I have looked for community and support here at university. Student Minds represents the kind of help I relied on, and fundraising for them feels like a way of giving back and helping ensure these resources continue for others.
What are you most excited for with regards to your challenge?
I really want to see my team smash their fundraising targets and grow as individuals throughout the year. As the current biggest fundraising group in the UK with Chooseachallenge, I’m really excited to build on what we did last year and double our group fundraising to £200,000.
Is there a message you’d give to anyone considering joining Choose a Challenge in future years?
It’s a big commitment, so go in prepared to put the work in… but the payoff is worth every bit of effort. Seeing your own growth over the months and making an impact not only for the charity but for people around you who may be facing mental health challenges has been genuinely rewarding and a clear reminder of why this matters.
Victoria is one of many ambitious and caring students who use their faith in important causes, like bettering student wellbeing and mental health, to undertake challenges such as this one every year.
Student Minds is the UK’s student mental health charity – they operate under the tagline ‘no student should be held back by their mental health’. Their work revolves around advocacy, student voice, and political and sector influencing to make the university experience as positive as possible for all students in the UK. Student Minds is incredibly grateful to each and every student who chooses to dedicate their time and energy to fundraising for us in ways like this. We applaud you all on your determination, resilience and kindness, and wish you the best of luck in your challenges!
If you’d like to get involved with the University of Nottingham Kilimanjaro trip with Choose a Challenge, there’s still time to sign up in January. By joining, you’ll become part of an incredible team on campus, fundraising both together and individually for an inspiring cause, and ultimately taking part in an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Along the way, you’ll make great friends, build skills for your CV, and gain invaluable fundraising experience that helps you stand out at job interviews. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to organise your own fundraising event in support of student mental health, you can get in touch with Student Minds directly at fundraising@studentminds.org.uk.
Leacsaidh Marlow
Featured image courtesy of Stephan Bechert via Unsplash. Image use license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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