Adventurers brave extreme cold to support North West’s most vulnerable

Volunteers supporting Liverpool’s leading social care charity, Nugent are gearing up to take part in a gruelling Arctic Challenge this week, raising money to alleviate some of the region’s biggest inequalities.

Eight intrepid explorers will fly to Sweden on Sunday 2 March, 2025 for the adventure of a lifetime, which will include a two-day survival phase where they will construct their own shelters and snow holes to sleep in, build fires, and purify their own water, all while battling the sub-zero temperatures.

Adventurers brave extreme cold to support North West’s most vulnerable

Across the week, they will trek up to eight hours per day to test their endurance and raise money to support Nugent’s Our Future Now initiative, a community service and wholly charitable arm of Nugent’s operations focused on alleviating inequalities through four key themes: Accommodation; Poverty Alleviation; Memorable Experiences; and Employability.

Some of the Arctic Challenge team braved the UK’s chilling temperatures recently, climbing Helvellyn in the Lake District to prepare for what’s ahead.

Jo Henney, CEO of Nugent, said:

“I’m wishing our Arctic Challenge volunteers a huge amount of luck and support for this year’s adventure.

“In late 2023, myself and 13 of Nugent’s colleagues and friends took part in a 100km trek across the Sahara Desert; it was a life-changing experience where we were all united in our end-goal of helping the people we support back home.

“The Arctic Challenge will be no walk in the park and I’m proud and thankful to everyone who has signed up to raise money for Nugent and Our Future Now this year.”

Nugent’s project manager, Zoe Donoghue, is one of this year’s volunteers and is having to overcome her own personal fears to take part in the expedition.

She said:

“I was inspired to sign up after seeing the stunning photos from the Sahara Trek and hearing the stories that came home with everyone who took part.

“The biggest challenge for me will be sleeping in a snow hole with seven other people; one of us has to be awake at all times to check that we’ve got enough oxygen – I think I’ll be sleeping closest to the door!

“I’m in my fifties and I’ve never done anything like this before but I’ll be there with a great group of friends, including my sponsor for the challenge, Simon Krol, and my best friend of 45 years, Collette who I don’t think I could do it without.”

To donate to the Nugent Arctic Challenge and for more information on Our Future Now, please visit the JustGiving page here.