"Before doing the See the World trip, I understood that $25 is roughly all it costs to perform cataract surgery on one person; after our visit to the eye hospital in Kathmandu, I understood that $25 is all it costs to change one person's life. My-Lin Dang G&T participant

Fundraising target: $20,000 (incl. the $10,000 from G+T)  

Amount raised: Over $28,000 (incl. the $10,000 from G+T)  

Number of trips: 4 x Nepal

Purpose:

The See the World Challenge was seen as an opportunity to offer tangible results to anyone with a 'charity dollar' to spend. The theme of the campaign was "A person's sight can be restored for as little as $25" - this really struck a chord with many people.From a firm perspective, a cause that everyone can get behind is hard to find. There was a large organising team (many of whom had not previously met) and once it started to look like fun, everyone wanted to be a part of it.

Fundraising activity:

G+T put up $10,000 representing the cost of four trips in the See the World program and challenged G+T staff members to match it. Over 25 G+T staff members worked to organise a 2 Park Street Stairclimb Challenge in which seven Stairclimbers (incl. two G+T Partners) were sponsored to climb as many sets of the fire stairs as they could in a two hour period. To allow broad participation, the Stairclimb Challenge was held in conjunction with and through Friday night drinks in the G+T Café.

What have you got out of your involvement?

It was a great exercise in problem solving and we learnt an enormous amount about what it takes to get a large number of people moving in the same direction. Having the event go smoothly and exceeding the fundraising targets was very rewarding.

How were the winners selected?

Any G+T staff member that made a donation of $25 or more was eligible to go in the draw for the trips. 103 G+T staff members wanted to go and the four winners names were pulled out of a hat.

Tips for future fundraisers?

Work towards offering a low cost fun experience to people rather than just asking for money or trying to sell something.  

The work performed by The Fred Hollows Foundation and Tilganga Eye Centre is incredible and there are few organisations throughout the world that can lay claim to such amazing, life-changing achievements with such little funding. It indeed deserves every bit of support it can get.

The Gilbert & Tobin Stair Climb Corporate Challenge ended up giving more than any of the organisers, individual sponsors or firm imagined it could or would.

Not only did the generosity of all involved help restore sight to numerous individuals through The Foundation, but the trip brought much needed tourist dollars to the struggling Nepalese economy that has suffered incredibly due to negative media reports.

It also resulted in great friendships between the trip participants, the sherpas and the guides - this in my opinion was worth many times more than the $28,000 that was raised during the Challenge itself.

In my mental preparations for the trip to Nepal, I visualised snow capped mountains and songs by a fire....what I experienced was snow capped mountains, endless songs and dances by the fire, beautiful emerald rice terraces, charming locals, seamless service and attention from the World Expedition sherpas and guides and the sound of laughing Nepalese children still ringing in my ears...."