Novel IT Sligo Mount Everest challenge raises over €8,000

IT Sligo staff raised over €8,000 for the Northwest Hospice by climbing Mount Everest from home on Friday.

The team who are working remotely from their own homes, together scaled 3,500 flights of stairs in one day.

This was a hugely inventive feat achieved during social distancing. Only the steps climbed up counted, not the steps down.

Before the climb took place, the fundraising target of €5,000 was already reached – all of which will go directly to the Northwest Hospice.

All charities are now missing out on vital fundraising due to the Government’s Covid-19 restrictions.

The Northwest Hospice is a hugely important service and provides palliative care services for people with life limiting illnesses where they are residing, be that at home, in a nursing home, hospital or in the hospice.

The hospice has an Inpatient Unit, Community Palliative Care Team and Hospital Palliative Care Team.

At the time of going to print, the fundraising had reached €8,565 and donations can still be made securely and easily via the IT Sligo Facebook page, where you can also see films and photographs of the expedition in progress.

Rosie Gilleece, Marketing Manager of IT Sligo took part in the event.

She said: “We are truly grateful for all the support, donations came in from all over Ireland, New York, London and all over the world from IT Sligo Alumni and those with connections with the West.

“We never expected to raise this much funds for this vital charity, so the leg stiffness was all worth it”.

They also invited families young and old all over Ireland to take part, and later heard of people climbing their own home stairs up to 50 times each, which is a great way to keep active and mobile with restrictions keeping everyone to within 2km of home.