Squire’s Washington Takes on Snowdon for Local Charity

Above from left: The Squire’s Washington Team at the top of Snowdon – Stuart Golds (Assistant Manager), Julie McGinn (Giftware Department Head) and Chris Dartnell (Centre Manager)

A team from Squire’s Garden Centres Washington has raised £1,200 from a charity fundraising event in aid of the centre’s ‘Charity of the Year’, Brighton-based Rockinghorse Children’s Charity. 

The team recently undertook a grueling 8.2 mile hike from Pen y Pass to the summit of Snowdon in aid of the charity. Rockinghorse is the main fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital which aims to raise money for life-saving equipment, projects and services for sick babies, children and young people. The Snowdon hike took the team of three 6 hours to complete, celebrating their achievement with a well earned visit to the local pub.

Chris Dartnell, Centre Manager, Squire’s Washington, comments: “The Squire’s Washington team like a challenge and we were keen to undertake Snowdon to raise funds for our Charity of the Year, which we started working with in August. We all trained ahead of the hike to ensure we could achieve it and were as fit and prepared as we could be. Our mission to reach the summit was a great personal challenge for each of us and helped us to raise a brilliant amount of money, as it caught the attention of many sponsors. It has certainly been one of our more ambitious challenges!

“Having set off in relatively good conditions, it was a different outlook at the summit with driving rain and wind and it was a struggle to stand up!  It was great to undertake our challenge as a team of colleagues and a small sacrifice compared to the difficulties many of the families supported by Rockinghorse face. It was a privilege to undertake our hike for such a dedicated local charity – and one which really makes a difference to young lives.”

Amanda Hetherington, Senior Corporate Engagement Manager, Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, comments: “We were delighted to hear that the Squire’s Washington team were so keen to undertake this challenge. The team are a real an inspiration and have been so enthusiastic in their fundraising to date. We are looking forward to hearing about their future fundraising plans.”