Climbing for a Cause – Why we’re walking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks

Those are some wise words from Mahatma Gandhi. Others you might be familiar with are “No one has ever become poor,” by Anne Frank, or “Charity begins at home, but it should not end there,” from Thomas Fuller. We are, of course, talking about the art of charity, a noun defined as the voluntary act of giving. In some shape or form, charity has touched all our lives – perhaps in ways we have never realised.

The number of registered charities in the UK is a big one – 170,724 as of January 2025, and that’s only the registered number. It’s estimated there could be an additional 100,000 across England and Wales alone! 

Here at Future Perfect, we are proud and loud supporters of the Openwork Foundation, and on 20th September, our team will be taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. All in one day, we’ll be tackling the iconic peaks of Pen-y-Ghent (694m), Whernside (736m), and Ingleborough (723m), covering nearly a marathon distance across rugged terrain in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. It’s a serious challenge, but we’re doing it for a cause we’re truly passionate about.

Why are we walking you may ask? Why are we putting ourselves through such a challenge, on a weekend of all things, when time is sacred for rest and relaxation!? The answer is simple; for over 40 years, the Openwork Foundation has supported charities across the UK that help vulnerable children and adults, donating more than £23 million to local projects nominated by members of the Openwork Network. At Future Perfect, we’ve been proud to support this work — with the help of the Foundation, we’ve donated over £50,000 to local charities in the last 10 years. Now, we’re stepping up again — quite literally — to keep that momentum going.

Through the Openwork Foundation, we have been able to support our nominated local charity; the Edward’s Trust, a specialist provider of holistic family bereavement support for the West Midlands. The trust, founded in 1989 by Peter and Hilary Dent, provides support to over 600 families every year, and provide services such as counselling and wellbeing therapies. With every donation, we are able to spread our generosity and care further, thanks to a 50% uplift from the Openwork Partnership.

Our charity champion, Ryan Cowley, supports the challenge as a “good way to get yourself out there, and push yourself. It’s been well received, and people want to get involved and support charity. It feels good to give something back. Our Snowden walk in September last year raised a lot of money, but I want to make sure Future Perfect is making more of an impact on the wider community.”

Our Three Peaks Challenge isn’t the only event we have in the pipeline either; there are plans for a charity Bake-Off, a Christmas Quiz, and even a football fun day involving the network, all in a bid to give back, get involved and support. And that’s just 2025! Ryan tells me that plans are already in motion for next year as well, however, more to come on that in due course…spoilers! 

If you are able, please help us and consider making a donation to the cause. Your support means so much, not only to our Tomb Raiders braving the mountain hike, but most importantly to the lives your donations will help change. You can make a donation here: https://openworkyorkshirethreepeaks.enthuse.com/pf/michael-mullen-hughes

Wholeheartedly, thank you for your support. We’ll be sharing photos and updates from the challenge, so keep an eye on our LinkedIn and Facebook Pages!