Co-op staff climb Britain's highest peak to raise thousands for children's hospice

Co-op stores across Derbyshire have pulled out all the stops to raise more than £10,000 for a children’s hospice – in just eight months.
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From a summer fair to scaling Britain’s highest mountain, staff from 20 shops across the region have dug deep to raise as much money as possible to support local families at Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.

It started around eight months ago when a 20-strong Co-op team of volunteers rolled up their sleeves to help landscape one the hospice’s car parks, which was in desperate need of a makeover.

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Dave Tomlinson, Co-op’s area charity champion, said: “It was certainly a day of hard graft but we had great fun and it was a fantastic sense of achievement at the end of it.”

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Six adventurous colleagues then took on the famed Scottish peak – Ben Nevis.

Dave Tomlinson was joined by Adam Smith, Matt Chambers, Jane Atkins, Nicola Clarke and Tracy Brewster for the epic challenge.

Dave said: “We all trained very hard in preparation, including many gym sessions and climbing other peaks such as Kinder Scout and Mount Snowdon. None of us had done anything on that scale before so it was a real challenge, not to mention being up against hail stone, howling gales and freezing cold conditions. But I’m delighted to say we safely made it to the summit. Our stores were rooting for us every step of the way and we raised a fantastic sum in the process thanks to everyone’s generosity. It’s been a fantastic eight months and I’m incredibly proud of everyone.”