Be careful what you wish for, even in jest!

Perhaps I should have taken heed of this maxim when, early this year, I wished for a life-changing challenge to present itself and a reason to tackle it!

The latter arrived first when Mum was diagnosed with skin cancer in April! A gardener, a country dweller and a lover of nature, she has spent many hours outdoors without adequate protection against the sun. The price is painful, repetitive hospital treatments. There is an added blight that as well as appearing on her arms and legs, the disease has broken out on her face and neck. The prognosis is good, providing she maintains treatment AND remains protected from the sun for the rest of her life. For the benefit of the reader, that is succinctly worded. In terms of family news, it is far-reaching and devastating.

Short of being there as and when required, there is little I can do to help Mum. However, I have never really been one to sit back and ride the bus into town, preferring to drive myself! Hugely frustrated, I chose to view her illness as a call to action and I began to search for a way to channel the frustration into something positive.

I searched the internet for a skin cancer charity. There are plenty of cancer charities out there but I wanted to find one that was specific to the disease. Knowing also that whatever I did to raise money, I would be striving for lots of publicity, I also wanted it to be a less well-known charity that would benefit from that exposure too. I understood the task of raising funds would potentially be harder but it seemed right to cover other aspects other than financial ones. I found the exact package!

Skcin, the Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity was formed by family and friends of Karen after she lost her battle with the disease in 2005. Along with help of medical professionals they set out to establish the first high profile charitable organisation in the UK targeting skin cancer. The principle objectives of the charity are raising awareness of the UK’s number one cancer, promoting prevention and early detection and campaigning for cultural and educational change.

Sadly there are too many myths regarding this disease pervading society. With more support, this small and relatively new charity can redress that balance and teach people that skin cancer is largely preventable and how to prevent it.

Having found a charity that resonated strongly with my thinking it was time to find a challenge to parallel it. Discovering companies existed that specialised in organising many different challenges, I perused many different websites in my search. There was just one challenge that stood out above the rest and, like the pull of the moon on the tides, it tugged at me until I clicked book now! A 250km dogsled in the Arctic Circle.

Starting in Tromso, north Norway, the trek takes 6 days and winds its way across Arctic wilderness. Existing for the duration in sub-zero temperatures, each musher takes sole responsibility for their team of six dogs, their camp and all relevant duties. The kitchen is a stove inside the tent upon which we will prepare boil-in-the-bag delights to fuel us on our way, the bed an Arctic sleeping bag and the bathroom, nature’s finest. Sledding through mountainous terrain, forests and frozen lakes, the journey ends at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden.

Although I have not yet arrived in the Arctic, the journey itself has started.

Having committed to the challenge and the charity, I needed publicity. Not one to be in the limelight, I realised I had not thought out how I was going to publicise things particularly well!

I began by writing a blog. After realising the only people reading it were my family, I began to publicise my early scribblings on Twitter. I nearly freaked out when I could see through my statistics it was being read as far afield as Europe, USA and South America. Still, despite it allowing me to acclimatise to the publicity, it wasn’t helping the cause a great deal.

Assistance came in the form of a local media website AMADE74, who offered to publicise an article for me. I knew I had no choice if I wanted to raise £4,000 but it was with trepidation I pressed send on the email. In no time at all, I received a reply telling me the article was live and would be sent out in a newsletter to thousands of subscribers the following day. My cries of horror turned to those of delight when my first financial sponsor, Stubbings Business Solutions, jumped on board, swiftly followed by Xplore It Printwear, a company prepared to supply clothing promoting my supporters.

Soon Loughborough Echo published an article, which in turn prompted an offer of sponsorship from Sub Zero Clothes, an extreme clothing retailer. As well as supplying and sourcing the correct clothing for the Arctic, they have been resolute in their support of me, promoting my activity wherever they see a chance and securing me financial sponsorship with two others to date.

With support increasing, I realised my blog needed to evolve into a website and I worked into the night over a period of a week to make that happen, adding details of all my supporters so far and linking in with their websites. Eliciting the help of photographer Joanne Withers from Nine Photos, along with the Charoite Siberian Huskies and owner Melanie Hannam, gave me more material with which to further enhance the site, but also to use in future publicity.

This Arctic Challenge gains momentum daily. Dates for the diary now include a presentation evening with current sponsors, discussions with potential sponsors and invitations to speak at group meetings. A Charity Ball is planned for the end of October and two other events are in the planning stages. News travels via social media, local press and word of mouth of my journey and messages of support appear in my emails and on my fund-raising page. In the space of three short months, I have been propelled from ordinary family life into one where I am constantly looking to the next fund-raising chance. Ideas manifest all the time and with them the fund-raising thermometer rises.

Doubtless the toughest element of this challenge has been helping Mum deal with the skin cancer and its subsequent treatment. It is hard watching someone I love so dearly fight the hardest fight of her life as I stand and watch helplessly on, and my heart goes out to those faced with the same battle. If my meagre effort is enough to prevent one family from going through the same pain and anguish then it will have been worthwhile.

I trust I have the strength to face my forthcoming and far less daunting challenges as wisely and with as much courage as my mother has faced hers, not least the ultimate challenge in Arctic Lapland.

For more details on any aspect of this expedition then please visit www.amandahalliday.com

Photos credit: Joanne Withers of Nine Photos