Irwin Mitchell Team Raise Over £4,200 For Peeps In The Atlas Mountains

A trio of experienced trekkers from the Manchester office of Irwin Mitchell successfully conquered Toubkal - the highest peak in the Atlas mountains, raising over £4,200 in aid of Peeps, a new charity providing support to those affected by HIE (hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy).

Jennifer Cawthorne, a medical negligence lawyer knew of Peeps having supported Sarah and Steve Land, the parents who founded the charity after their daughter Heidi was affected by HIE in 2015 - a lack of oxygen to the brain of an infant that can cause serious injuries.

Wanting to support the fledgling charity, Jennifer was joined by colleagues Lynne Carrick-Leary and Gayle Palmer, who decided to combine their love of trekking with fundraising, by taking on the tallest mountain range in the Arab world. At 4167 metres, Toubkal is the highest peak in the Atlas mountain range and means the trio raised over a pound a metre.

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"Gayle, Lynne and I are thrilled to have raised so much for Peeps. Sarah and Steve had not heard of HIE until Heidi was born and finding very little support for families of those affected, they have worked so hard to fill a gap when it comes to this relatively unknown, yet devastating condition.

“The trek itself was amazing, with perfect walking weather and miraculously we all got back in one piece. It was a hard climb up and a hard walk down, with a lot of scree and bruises to show for it too! However, it was an amazing adventure and while we thank everyone for their donations and colleagues for all their support, more donations are always welcome!” Jennifer Cawthorne - Partner

Speaking on behalf of Peeps, Co-founder and Chair of Trustees, Sarah Land said: “On behalf of the Trustees, I want to thank Jen, Lynne and Gayle for their efforts and raising such an amazing sum. Every penny really does count for Peeps but for a unknown condition like HIE, the more noise we can make about it, the more we can bring information to families without them being forced to search the internet for help like we did.”

In addition to the trio’s efforts, a donation from the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF) will take the fundraising total over the £5,000 mark. Founded in 1997, IMCF is an independent charity which has raised more than £2 million for charities in the UK.

You can find more information on the Peeps website while the trekking trio’s fundraising page remains open for donations on their TotalGiving fundraising page