Back in late June, Gareth, Ross and Rory Holmes and Andrew Hossack took on the 3 Peaks Challenge here. The challenge consisted of climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales respectively within a 24 hour period, including travel between the climbs. Here's a wee update on how the boys got on with this huge challenge.

Here the boys are raring to go at the starting line for the 3 Peaks Challenge at the foot of Ben Nevis 6 o’clock in the evening on Saturday 28^th June. The veteran of the team is obviously not quite so keen as he tries to slip back into the car!!!

The boys managed all three climbs, starting with Ben Nevis, travelling through the night to climb Scafell Pike in England at six in the morning. They then moved on to Snowdon in North Wales. The young bucks came trotting off the mountain without breaking a sweat whilst Ross and the veteran of the group staggered off two minutes inside the target of six o’clock on the Sunday evening.

The boys would like to thank the two invisible members of the team Christine and Jane for all their efforts over the weekend. The girls drove the team nearly 1000 miles, ensured they were fed and watered and even paid for the Burger King on the way up the road #legends!!!!

 The team on top of Ben Nevis.

Loads of sweat, plenty of fun and just a little pain but all well worth it to raise over £1000 (beating their target by over 150%) for the awesome Tartan Army Childrens Charity (TACC).

Brilliant, and well done lads. Huge thanks from all of us at TACC :-)

You can still support the team and donate online at www.justgiving.com/TeamTACC or by texting HEMI93 plus amount to 70070.

The Tartan Army Childrens Charity will be continuing its Ambassadorial role during the Euro Qualifying campaign by supporting  children’s charities in the countries in which our national team plays.

At our first match in Dortmund, Germany on September 7^th TACC will be making a donation of £5,000 to “Off Road Kids” (ORK) who for 20 years have been actively working to provide refuge and support for children, as young as 12 years old, who have become homeless due to negligence, ill-treatment and abuse, and who live by begging, prostitution and petty theft. To date ORK estimate that over 3,000 children have been rehabilitated back into society in safety and with confidence.

Off Road Kids

Off Road Kids has a network across the major German cities and established their programme in Dortmund in 2005. The Countrywide Street Social Work network enables ORK to engage with “runaways”, many from rural communities, as early as possible and avoid them slipping from one urban centre to the next.

A complete spectrum of care and support is offered by ORK, initially with front line Street Social Workers who identify and engage with children in danger, recognising both the physical and psychological manifestations of their lifestyle brought on, and threatened by, illness, drugs, alcohol, violence and lack of opportunity. The need for security, advice, support, care and affection is tantamount to rehabilitate these youngsters.

$1·         ORK’s qualified welfare support workers are able to offer personal attention, giuidance and assistance to the children to re-engage with an educational programme, medical assistance, employment opportunities or simply travel back to the parental home in safety. Many of these programmes are facilitated through partnerships with a suite of private enterprise benefactors and these have provided a momentum of positive change over the years.

$1·         ORK also provide a 24/7 free-of-charge emergency number to all young people needing care. This enables ORK’s Street Social Workers to intervene more quickly.

$1·         ORK has also set up a Parents Hot-line for parents whose children are threatening to run away (or have already done so), who are in contact with the street scene, or who have turned to prostitution. Well-experienced, qualified workers are available to support parents.

Young people who cannot find help in their families or in their home town youth welfare, can be given accommodation and assistance by the Residential Youth Group in the Black Forest area which offers intense care and support. In the Residential Youth Group children can start studying for their final school examinations or a professional training program of their choice. With the second children’s home provision is made for the intensive care of 18 children.

Professional support for the children is essential, and ORK’s staff receives tailored qualifications through cooperation at the Institute for Pedagogic Management (IfPM), which is a joint project between with the University of Berlin and ORK.

TACC are delighted to be able to support this nationwide programme of successful multi-functional  support for some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

You can help us support this great initiative by making sure you get your TACC away t-shirt for the game, all profits go to our charitable activities.

T-shirts for all Euro qualifiers can be bought here, on our newly updated TACC store. Once again our t-shirts are in partnership with Hairy Haggis and now cover both the away game and the home game.

Our donation of £5,000 went to “Off Road Kids” (ORK) who for 20 years have been actively working to provide refuge and support for children, as young as 12 years old, who have become homeless due to negligence, ill-treatment and abuse, and who live by begging, prostitution and petty theft. To date ORK estimate that over 3,000 children have been rehabilitated back into society in safety and with confidence. 

 TACC met with Director, Markus Seidel andJens Elberfeld and his team of Street Social Workers who identify and engage with children in danger, recognising both the physical and psychological manifestations of their lifestyle brought on, and threatened by, illness, drugs, alcohol, violence and lack of opportunity.

ORK have a smallish office in Dortmund where they invite the children to come in and discuss their issues and hopefully, over a period of time, work out some opportunities to effect the necessary lifestyle changes. 

Huge thanks to everyone that gave up their free time to come along to the presentation in Dortmund, your support is amazing as always. TACC are delighted to have been able to support this nationwide programme of successful multi-function support for some of the countries most vulnerable children.