An award winning initiative set up at the Elgin Youth Café are hoping this week to provide a boost to the fantastic efforts of a Garmouth fundraiser.
The Delta Force are a group of young volunteers at the Café who provide services helping elderly, disadvantaged or disabled members of the community whenever and wherever possible.
On Friday the group are set to take on an unusual challenge and are inviting anyone in Moray who has a taste for something out of the ordinary to join them.
After meeting the regional development officer for Orienteering in Moray, Mike Rodgers, Delta Force members have accepted a challenge to compete over special 2km and 4km courses at Lhanbryde Primary School – in the dark.
It is hoped that by doing so they can inspire others to join in an help raise funds for Lucy Lintott, who at in 2013 at just 19-years-old was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Just like her better-known fellow-sufferer Stephen Hawking, Lucy refused to let this become an obstacle in her life – and set herself a target to raise £100,000 for MND Scotland. Thanks to her incredible efforts and supported by many friends, Lucy is now well on the way to her target, having crossed the £50,000 half-way mark by the end of February.
Elgin Youth Café leader Donna Breen said: “This is a really exciting project for us with the aim to give our youngsters a real sense of purpose by raising money for Lucy’s cause – while learning event-organising and people-facing skills.
“All the orienteering planning’s been done by the local orienteering club, but we have to learn how to use their event-management computer network and software while ensuring that the event is run in a safe but challenging way.”
Friday’s event is open to adults, juniors and families, with the only essential bits of kit being a good light or head torch, a sense of humour, and a desire to challenge yourself in a fun and unusual way.
“It’s a totally different ball game in the dark” explained Mike Rodgers, who added: “You can only navigate by what you can see in the beam of your torch, meaning that obvious features off to either side that might help you find your way in the day time will be virtually invisible! In order to do well at night orienteering you must keep tabs on exactly where you are all the time.”
The event on Friday evening (March 6) sees registration opening at 6.15 pm. Challengers can set out on their course as soon as it’s dark enough which is expected to be just before 7pm. Entry is by donation to Lucy’s appeal.
Mr Rodgers added: “There is no fixed start time so you can arrive as late as 7.30, but everyone must start their course by 7.45 and make sure they report back to registration by 9pm.”
See Also
Information on Lucy’s Story and Appeal
The Elgin Youth Cafe online