A MAN is taking on Kilimanjaro to fundraise as much money as possible for a Barnsley support service and Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Carl Soar, of Honeywell, decided he wanted to do a fundraiser to benefit both Our Place - a service which brings together adults with learning difficulties - as his sister Susan Soar has been attending for more than ten years.
He will also be fundraising for Sheffield Children’s Hospital as his two children have been treated there before.
The 40-year-old will be tackling Mount Kilimanjaro on September 19 and is aiming to raise as much as he can, with the final total being split equally between the children’s hospital and the support service.
“It was just something I decided to do and thought it would be a good idea,” said Carl.
“I wanted to do it for both as my kids have been to the hospital and Our Place has been a great benefit to my sister.”
To support Carl and help him fundraise, Our Place held a fundraising event yesterday in the Valley Community Centre in Cudworth.
Kerrie Whiteside, business manager of Our Place, said: “I was approached by Carl’s mum, Barbara, to sponsor him but it was decided that we could do better than that and a plan was formed to hold a joint fundraising event.
“Barbara has worked tirelessly to secure raffle prizes and between us we amassed some fabulous prizes such as a TV and a tablet.
“We are extremely grateful for the support that local people and businesses have shown so far.
“We hope to help Carl to achieve his fundraising goal and have a fun day doing so.”
Our Place has been running for more than 20 years and recently faced uncertainty two years ago after the service which ran the group decided to close it.
It provides a social atmosphere and activities for its service users and helps them engage with others.
The group is primarily based at the Priory Campus in Pontefract Road, Barnsley, but holds community sessions which includes bowling at the Metrodome.
Currently, the group has 50 members and all service users must be over 18.
Speaking about how the group benefits its service users, Kerrie said: “It is just such a wonderful place - the service users are always benefiting from being here.
“Some have been here for more than 20 years and at first they couldn’t really do anything for themselves.
“Here, we give them the ability to make decisions and give them a bit of independence.”
Our Place is run by three staff members but is still on the look out for more volunteers.
For more information visit justgiving.com/fundraising/carl-soar
