On 26th August, four of our Dell public sector team members will fly across the world with students and teachers from Copland Community School in north-west London to take on the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro.
The brave team members volunteered their time to climb the summit as part of Dell’s Powering the Possible partnership with the Transformation Trust, a charity focused on providing inspiring and engaging extra-curricular activities that help young people identify new skills and interests which will equip them for the world of work.
The Transformation Trust is one of many charities that Dell works with across the world, providing funding and technology grants focused on addressing issues such as access to IT and training for young people. And the work being done by the Transformation Trust perfectly aligns to that goal.
Amy Leonard, Chief Executive of the Transformation Trust explains why Kilimanjaro was chosen for this fundraising initiative: “The Transformation Trust is all about giving young people access to opportunities that will both challenge and inspire them. We want young people to think about themselves and their place in the world differently, helping them to scale new heights. What better way to do this than to take on the ultimate challenge of Mount Kilimanjaro with role models from companies such as Dell.”
To decide who should join the Dell team on the climb, students from Copland school were asked to submit videos showing why they should be picked. The winning video really stood out and once the winners had been informed, they wasted no time in going out and getting their kit!
Joining the Dell team and students on the trek will be our Latitude 10 tablets, ensuring each of them can keep us up to date with news and pictures as they progress on their journey. We chose the Latitude tablets for their light and durable design, which make them extremely portable, very important when you’re also carrying a heavy day pack and trekking for up to 14 hours on the day they ascend to the summit!
Each is also enabled with WiFi and has a WWAN card option for mobile connectivity, with a removable battery which means that additional battery life is easily available if needed. The tablets are designed to withstand hot and extreme environments – very important given the challenging and changeable weather conditions our climbers have been told to prepare for.
To date the team has raised £15,000 through activities including bake sales and raffles across Dell offices, a car wash in Glasgow and fundraisers at school fetes. We’re hoping to raise even more ahead of the climb to make sure children across the UK continue to benefit from the fantastic work carried out by the Transformation Trust.
All of us at Dell UK are extremely proud of the team members and students embarking on this adventure. Stay up to date with the team via @DellUK and Direct2Dell – follow #KiliChallenge to see their journey progress.
For more information or to donate to the Trust please visit the charity’s Just Giving page.