In memory of her late son, Will Jones (whose life was remembered in the winter 2022 issue of Barrow Voice) and to raise money for The Wave Project charity, Helen Jones will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa this coming December.
Will died in a tragic surfing accident and when friends and family wanted to honour him, The Wave Project seemed ideally fitting as it’s the closest thing to his passion for surfing. This project helps to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people through the power of surf therapy. “He loved the ocean so much,” Helen told me, “it seemed a natural thing to do.”
She started volunteering with the charity as a surf mentor when she’s at her family home in Newquay. She works one-on-one with a child, helping them in the water, on the board and finding the right wave. It means a lot to her. One child, she particularly remembers, was very apprehensive at the beginning but went from scared to happy and chatty: “This is the best session I have ever had” was the appraisal at the end.
When information came through about raising money by attempting this physically challenging climb, it shouted at her and she made the decision to go for it.
Helen has to raise £6,000 for the charity and with all the fundraising she’s been doing over the last few months, she’s about three-quarters there but is asking for just a little help to get her over the final hurdle.
She’s been training hard since last December with lots of long walks, gym sessions and high-altitude training in the UK. The hardest day of the trek is supposed to be the day she will reach the summit. The team she’ll be with will start at midnight, trek in the dark to reach the peak at dawn before they start the descent.
Karisa Krcmar
If you would like to contribute to Helen’s fundraising, you can do so by donating via the link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/helen-jones-1702655786026.
There are lots of ways your donation will help, such as the purchase of a specially adapted wetsuit, adapted surfboards and six-week surf therapy programme. You can find out more about The Wave Project on their website: https://www.waveproject.co.uk
