Staff smash funding target for charities
Staff from SSEN Transmission have raised funds for two Lochaber charities by walking up Ben Nevis.
They were joined by colleagues from Balfour Beatty and TerraFirma who they worked alongside on a Fort Augustus to Fort William power project.
The team set off at 4am on a cold, wet Saturday morning in the name of Lochaber Hope and Highland Hospice, selected by Balfour Beatty earlier in the year.
The group, made up of 20 members from across SSEN Transmission, Balfour Beatty and TerraFirma, raised £3,143.75 for Lochaber Hope and £2,625 for Highland Hospice.
The team initially aimed to raise £2,000 for each charity but smashed this target thanks to sponsor money raised by each participant and kind donations from each company involved.
Two members of the SSEN Transmission team have also applied to SSE for matched funding, which is expected to take the total raised to £6,068.75.
The team celebrated the success of the Fort Augustus to Fort William project with a barbecue once work had been completed, where they raised a further £350 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, a cause SSEN Transmission raised in excess of £2,000 for last year.
Ewan MacFarlane, SSEN Transmission’s project manager, was delighted with the efforts of the team, despite the difficult conditions. He said: ‘The climb was tough, with strong gusts of wind and biting cold temperatures, but we all made it up and back down within seven hours. The most challenging part was the descent as there were hundreds of walkers on the narrow paths heading up. Many of them were taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge. The weather was typical for Lochaber and the rain stayed on for most of the morning. Once we were up to 3,000ft, the mist closed in and the temperature plummeted to -2°C. There wasn’t much to see at the summit and there was still some snow. We raised more than expected for three extremely worthy causes, which we are all delighted by.
‘It was a fantastic team effort from everyone involved in the project and we were delighted to have raised so much.’
The recently completed Fort William to Fort Augustus project involved refurbishing the towers and replacing the existing wires. The new wires will be able to carry more electricity as well as ensure the continued security of supply in the area.