The Extreme Cello trio have been taking on unusual challenges – playing their cellos in weird and wonderful locations – to support various charities since 2003.
This year, the team chose to support CHICKS and Alzheimer’s Society with their Pier Pressure challenge.
Over the course of 14 days, the trio travelled the coastline of Great Britain, playing on (or under) each of the 58 remaining piers in the country! This involved travelling 2925 miles across 41 counties in just a fortnight.
They raised money through sponsorship and bucket collections at their performances, and we’re delighted to reveal that so far they’ve raised £8430, which means £4215 for CHICKS!
Prior to the challenge, the Extreme Cello team visited CHICKS’ Daleside Retreat in Derbyshire so they could see how the money raised would help. They played for the children, who then excitedly tried out playing the instruments themselves.
The trio blogged each day of their challenge, and all agreed that their favourite pier of the 58 was Clevedon, in Somerset, saying “this is an absolute gem of a pier, with stunning architecture, and recently restored in quite brilliant fashion.” Visit the Extreme Cello website to read more about their travels and the people they met along the way, including a former CHICKS child in Paignton!
From everyone here at CHICKS – thank you! We rely on generous donations to keep providing our vital breaks, and we love a wacky fundraising idea. If you're feeling inspired, find out more about raising money for CHICKS here.
