We were delighted to hold our second celebration of the recent 3 Peaks Challenge, this time in Liverpool.

Our Liverpool-based colleagues were joined by colleagues from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland who flew in especially for the evening.

The dinner and drinks followed a lunch last month in London when we presented St. Michael’s Hospice (North Hampshire) with a cheque for £30,850.

This was the fantastic amount raised by the UM team which successfully completed the 3 Peaks Challenge in June in memory of former colleague Melissa Bryers (nee Childerley).

The money raised by UM included £11,675 of match-funding from our holding company W&R Barnett and a generous donation from a major customer.

Those who attended the Liverpool celebration included climbers Lewis Chambers, Jamie Clintworth, Tate France, Tom Prior, Jake Ellis, Harry Lawson, Robbie Flynn and Niall O’Donnell. They were joined for the evening by support team members Jo Winning and Bernie Wilson along with Geraldine Carroll who was one of the organisers.

Geraldine said: “It was a lovely evening with an excellent steak dinner followed by a few drinks at a local Irish bar. We were particularly pleased that Robbie and Niall were able to make the trip over to join us. Everyone was on top form and enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate what was an amazing achievement.”

The challenge, which the UM team completed in June, saw them scale the three famous peaks in less than 24 hours – starting with the ascent of Ben Nevis (1345m), followed by the climb of Scafell Pike (978m) in the Lake District the same evening and Snowdon (1085m) in North Wales in the early hours of Sunday, June 15.

The money raised by the UM team, together with a further £18,000 generated by Melissa’s family and friends, will allow the Hospice to purchase three Cuddle Beds.

We know how important every penny is for St. Michael’s Hospice which only receives 22% funding from the NHS, meaning that every day the charity must raise £14,500 to run its services.

The other UM colleagues who undertook the challenge were Felicity White, Andrew Creasey, Mark Few and Agnieszka Sriskanthan-Reksa.