Convincing people to part with their hard-earned cash is never easy. Throw in memories of recession and an economic outlook that is bleaker than Bronte moorland, and the task looks near insurmountable. Nevertheless, when it comes to helping fund outrageous stunts, people are seemingly happy to dip into their current accounts, especially when those stunts are for the greater good of charity.
With the competition for wackiest idea growing fiercer by the year, fundraisers are creating a legacy of ideas that will inspire others for a long time yet.
Abseiling in suit of armour
A swordmaker from England, Jez Menis, abseiled down Britain’s highest waterfall clad in a full suit of armour in March 2010 in order to raise money for Kidney Research UK. Menis made the suit in question himself, basing the design on plate armor worn during the War of the Roses era. Menis descended the 220ft Canonteign Falls after successfully raising more than $1,600 in sponsorship.
Riding a Penny Farthing across Australia
In 2004, Lloyd Scott rode a Penny Farthing across Australia, from Perth, across the Nullarbor Plain and the Great Dividing Range, and down to Sydney. ‘After the first couple of days my support team and I were all wondering how the hell I was going to do it,’ recalls Scott. ‘The temperature reached 40°C, the terrain was rough and the Victorian bike had no suspension. It was tough but I took it day by day and after 50 days completed it.’ The stunt raised more than £500,000 for the Clic charity.
Marathon in deep-sea diving suit
Deep-sea diving suits of the old-school weigh in excess of 180lb. In 2002, Lloyd Scott put one on (including helmet) to ‘run’ the London Marathon. The 26 mile slog took Scott five days. The diving suit – a 1940 Russian 3-bolt model – now resides in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
Skateboarding across Australia
Over 105 days in 2006, Dave Cornthwaite skateboarded 5823km from Perth to Brisbane, averaging approximately 60km per day. The feat secured Cornthwaite a place in the Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled by skateboard and earned him the nickname of the ‘Mad Pom’. Most importantly, it raised more than $32,000 for three charities including Sailability Australia. ‘It’s an unusual idea,’ Cornthwaite said at the time, ‘but the Australian people see this normal bloke like me pushing myself to the limit for good causes and they’ve run with it.’
Living with spiders
Nick Le Souef, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, spent three weeks living, eating and sleeping in a tiny shop window with just 400 deadly spiders for company. In the process, Le Souef raised more than $16,000 for children’s charity, Variety.
Climbing blind
In May 2001, American Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind man to reach the top of Mount Everest, raising thousands of pounds for blind charities by doing so.
Crossing Japan on stilts
Married couple Mick and Miki Tan, walked the entire length of Japan on stilts during 2009. The journey, which they described as ‘one year, two stilts, 3000km’ was officially known as the Pongo Hogo Hogo Challenge and carried out to raise money for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Fund. The couple carried their food, water, tents and clothes themselves and stopped at every school on the route to help raise awareness of the plight of the orangutans in the dwindling rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.
Old-age abseiling
When the then 84-year-old Molli Turner abseiled off the 175ft ICL tower in Gorton, Manchester in fancy dress, she earned herself a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Turner, now 91, has lived though breast and throat cancer and raised $320,000 for St Ann’s Hospice. Her efforts earned her an MBE in 2001.
The next big thing
While people undoubtedly love originality, they also love things that amuse them or make them think. Avoid costumes or premises that are negative, and especially those designed to make people feel guilty.
Also bear in mind the setting for the charitable event as a lot of money can potentially be raised en-route. According to the 2010 World Giving Index, the countries where citizens are most likely to give to charitable causes are, in descending order of altruism, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, United States, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.