Student's 'Escape and Evade'

 
No one got farer than students on an
aeroplane; © PixelQuelle.de

A team of Loughborough University students travelled hundreds of miles in a round trip from the Midlands to Calgary, Canada, in a single November weekend. The journey, in aid of Help the Aged, was completed without a single penny being spent.

Winners Mark Grout, Murray MacPherson and Aidan Wigham, were taking part in ‘Escape and Evade', a Help the Aged fundraising challenge in association with Loughborough University. Money raised from the event will help to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect.

The fun and innovative event saw over 200 students from 10 Midlands universities attempt to get as far away as possible from the Loughborough University base, and back again, within 51 hours. The students had to use their skills of imagination and persuasion to achieve this, as they were not permitted to spend any money.
The winners, who raised over £1,280 for the Charity, charmed their way from Loughborough University to Manchester Airport, and then managed to get a flight to Calgary by explaining their worthwhile cause. Unfortunately, they were unable to secure a hotel room ahead of their flight the next morning, and spent the night on airport benches.

They soon caught up on their sleep when, to their surprise, they were ushered to the first class cabin for the 9 hour flight to Calgary. Landing with only 45 minutes to spare before catching the return flight, they braved the -8 degree cold to play in the snow and buy a local newspaper.

Mark Grout said: 'We were dressed in kilts and bright yellow ‘Escape and Evade' t-shirts so we really stood out. Everyone was so friendly and generous - we collected £550 on the flights alone. The Canadians were some of the nicest people we've ever met. We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their kindness, especially to Zoom Air for getting us all the way to Canada. Will we take part in Escape and Evade 2007? The answer is a definite ‘yes'!'
As part of ‘Escape and Evade', other destinations which participants reached included Malaga and Tenerife, where the teams promptly headed for the beach to catch a little sunshine, before heading back to Loughborough. Another team, dressed as Santa Claus, found themselves blending in with a crowd of colourful carnival goers in Munich.

Sarah Greene, Community Events Organiser at Help the Aged, said: 'We would like to say thank you to our student volunteers who were absolutely amazing. They not only raised money in sponsorship for Help the Aged, but also collected money on their travels, thanks to the extremely generous members of the public.'

REHACARE.de; Source: Help the Aged

- More about Help the Aged at: www.helptheaged.org.uk

( Source: REHACARE.de )