A KIND-hearted ardent supporter of Chadsgrove School’s extraordinary work has raised £12,000 to help enrich the lives of its children and young people by braving the ‘trek of a lifetime’ to Mount Everest Base Camp.
Cash raised from Kevin Hatch’s trek will go to the school to upgrade its outside play area and sensory garden, including wheelchair-friendly access routes to enable everyone at the school to enjoy the outside space.
It will also provide funding for community outreach programmes.
Kevin jetted off to Kathmandu to begin his journey, which led to him climbing 5,644m above sea level.
He also flew to Lukla, believed to be the world’s most dangerous airport, and travelled through Sherpa villages, past monasteries and over suspension bridges en route to the base camp of the world’s highest mountain.
From there, he started to climb to the highest point of the trek, Kala Patthar, before travelling back to Kathmandu.
Kevin first visited Chadsgrove while working with Severn Trent Water, helping to plant and open a tiny forest at the school last year as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games celebrations.
Earlier this month, he presented a cheque to the school at a special assembly, where he also answered questions about the trek.
Kevin told the Standard: “The entire trip was really good, it was mentally very draining and dealing with the altitude and sickness was tough at points but overall it was phenomenal.
“The assembly was lovely. It was great to hear the children’s questions about the trek, it was really rewarding and they made me thank-you banners.
“It was really nice. They put the cheque on the wall with a picture of me above it. I could tell from speaking to them how much they would benefit from the money.
“It was nice how everyone pulled together during a cost-of-living crisis to help the local community and this extraordinary school.”
Kevin added he would be going back to the school in the new year to help with other activities such as taking the students on walks.
