Dear Angel

I have just returned from a visit to Chicago with Steffi Claiden, attending her Family Office Review Awards, after Global Angels was selected as one of their charities and, amazingly, flew me out so I could join them :)

Our Angels in Action are achieving some great things at the moment and the start of summer has brought with it some new records! We also have the London 10k Run in just 3 weeks, where 29 Angels will be running through London, raising money to rescue and rehabilitate child slaves in Asia, and to provide safe drinking water in Africa. Please support them by sponsoring through their fundraising pages and if you are in London that day come and join us to cheer them on. We still have 7 places available so there is time to get your running shoes on and take part.

We are thrilled that Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton has successfully summited Mount Everest for Global Angels, in his quest to raise funds to provide safe drinking water for impoverished communities. News reports tell us that the day he summited was one of the worst in recent history, with four climbers dying that weekend. Congratulations Matt and so glad you are safe :)

This new Everest Angel reminds me of another amazing climber who became the youngest British female to climb Everest in 2010. Recently, Bonita Norris has also become the only British female to have ever climbed Lhotse - Everest’s neighbour. How cool to think we had two Angels climbing Himalayan mountains at the same time, both successful in their challenges despite the extreme conditions.

Bonita has successfully raised over £13,000 for two Global Angels projects, one in Uganda where we have provided a brick-making machine, and the other a UK based project for children with Cerebral Palsy, providing therapy equipment to enhance the children's quality of life.

“Becoming the youngest British female to climb Everest, in 2010, took a huge amount of preparation, planning and strength, especially during the climb itself! Knowing that the funds I raised were going to really help kids and communities who desperately needed it was a huge motivation and really helped me push through the difficult times during the expedition, especially the final push for the summit. The experience was unforgettable and it is amazing to see the results from all of the generous donations. I have visited the UK centre in which we provided specialised equipment to help children with Cerebral Palsy be more involved in activities such as hydrotherapy. It is so inspiring to see the children having so much fun and increasing their independence. In Uganda we provided a brick making machine, which is now helping to build a rehabilitation village for child victims of war. The machine is now producing 1,000 bricks a day! I love working with Global Angels and am looking forward to taking a team of Angels to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in October this year, so we can raise more funds to achieve some great things!”
- Bonita Norris

We have just received an inspiring video directly from the project in Uganda which I wanted to share with you, reporting back on how the grant has been used. You can watch the video here. Check out the pictures below of the brickmaking machine in action, and one of the kids at the project.

We are always looking for new mountain-climbing Angels. Bonita will be taking a team of Angels to the summit of Kilimanjaro in October and we still have a few spaces left for this amazing opportunity. Find out more here and please email me if you are interested, as we need to confirm numbers by the end of next week :)

Thanks for being an Angel