Drum roll please….Introducing the Action for Charity and Dream Challenges Blog.

Hello and welcome to the first entry of our brand new blog. 

A weekly blog that will cover stories from our event participants, place a spotlight on the incredible charities you fundraise for, offer an insight into our events, a chance to hear from our wonderful team and much more.

We decided there could be no better way to launch than interviewing Ann Frampton the founder of Action for Charity and Dream Challenges. Here is what Ann had to say…

 What inspired you to set up Action for Charity?

I worked within the charity sector for over ten years at charities such as Barnardos (Dr Barnardos back then!) and Aspire. When I was at Aspire I organised one of the early overseas charity challenges – a trek in the Sinai Desert! The event was a huge success and raised thousands for Aspire. Then one night over dinner (and a few glasses of wine!) my work colleague at the time Gay and I had an idea…why don’t we set-up a business to offer challenge events to charities! Enter Action for Charity!

Do you feel you have achieved this?

I am extremely proud of what we have achieved at Action for Charity over the last fifteen years. We have raised millions of pounds for a number of amazing charities. However for me it’s not all about the fundraising. I take a great amount of pleasure seeing our participants achieve their challenge – whether it be to cycle 100km through the night or to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro. A lot of our participants have very personal reasons for doing a challenge and seeing them get to that finish line is very rewarding for me.

We take great pride in the very personal service that we provide for our event participants, we believe this is why many participants come back year after year. I have also been very privileged to meet some amazing people on our challenges over the years – many of whom remain close friends.  

How many challenges have you done now?

We often talk about this in the office and I think have done well over 100 charity challenges. I will have to try and list them all one day! I am planning to write a book when I retire so watch this space! 

If you had to choose, what would be your favourite event & why?

That is a very difficult question as I have been fortunate to go on many amazing challenges over the years! However I would have to say my personal favourite is Cycle Cuba, because I love the music, dancing, cocktails…and the cycling of course!

What does the future hold for Action for Charity?

We hope to continue to offer an exciting portfolio of challenge events. 

We have an amazing calendar of events lined up for 2015/16. Why not take on one of our hugely popular team challenge events such as Race the Sun Lake District or join the next amazing Women V Cancer challenge Cycle Vietnam to Cambodia. Alternatively join us for a once in a lifetime trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro or hike along the famous Inca Trail on our new Trek Machu Picchu challenge. Women V Cancer Ride the Night 2015 was a huge success and registration for Ride the Night 2016 is open now.

Finally, why should people sign up for our events?

Firstly, with our experience you know you are in safe hands. The team will support you all the way - from application stage to the top of that mountain!  We organise and deliver training weekends and provide experienced staff to accompany all overseas events.

The challenge will make you more motivated than you can imagine. So if you want to reach that weight loss goal or regain your fitness levels having a challenge to aim for is the mother of all motivators.

By signing up you could fundraise for a charity close to your heart. By challenging yourself you can have a positive impact on those your charity supports. We say our challenges are life changing experiences not only for you but for those you fundraise for. 

The challenges can take you to some incredible places, you will meet some amazing people and will get the best taste of achievement when you complete the challenge.

Put your fears aside and go for it!

Feel inspired? To find out more about Dream Challenges events please visit: 

http://www.actionforcharity.co.uk/index.php or email events@dreamchallenges.co.uk or call 01590 646410