Wyndham Walkers

Early this year, a group of dedicated staff at Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific got together to walk to the top of Mt. Everest - a virtual Mt. Everest that is!

The Everest Virtual Challenge, presented by Heritage Building Society, is a unique fundraising event for an especially worthy cause. Participants are encouraged to raise money for children's medical research in Brisbane. All funds raised will go towards funding children's medical research here in Brisbane.

The task was definitely a challenge - team mates had to race to the top of the world at 10,000 steps per person, per day. The number of steps required to reach the top of the virtual Mt Everest is up to 2.1 million steps and teams track their progress along the designated route via an online map.

So did the committed team of eight reach the summit? "We made it to Base Camp Three, which was a really good effort. Normally you would require a group of fifteen and we only had eight people, so we did our absolute best!", the team confirmed.

Haley Whittington, Acquisitions Assistant, organiser of the Wyndham Walkers and chief motivator behind the team, encouraged them all the way. "It was a great cause and a good opportunity to work on some team building."

The group were walking 10 to 20 thousand steps a day and managed to raise around $500, which is a tremendous effort. Funds from the Everest Virtual Challenge go towards providing services to brighten the lives of sick children and their families who visit the Royal Children's Hospital throughout Queensland, Australia and overseas.

For team member Michele Miller, the event was especially significant to her. "I have children, so it was important for me to participate. I also had a niece who was seriously ill with leukaemia, so it's something that's very close to my heart."

Often we can lose sight of how fundraising events have the potential to greatly improve people's lives. Teams such as Haley's demonstrate how friends and workmates can make a difference, however small it may be, to help others in need.

The team was asked how they would go climbing the real Mt Everest.

"It's an amazing challenge. I think I would lose a few toes!" Haley said.

Thanks again Haley and your fabulous team, for setting such a great example and seeing a worthy project through to the end. Next year, more staff are likely to get involved, and this time we'll make it all the way to the top!

For more information, or to register to participate in The Virtual Everest Challenge 2009, click on http://www.workingwonders.com.au/go/learn-more/events/everest-virtual-challenge