Carl Takes on Kilimanjaro in Aid of the Alzheimer's Society
Carl
Poulton joined our Tamworth office just before Christmas. He has a very
exciting role, as he was the first member of a new software development team
working on MySGS and is now the team leader. Despite having a very busy schedule,
he’s still managing to find time to take on a truly epic undertaking: climbing
Kilimanjaro in aid of the Alzheimer's Society.
“Very
recently I had a big birthday and wanted to mark it with some form of challenge,”
says Carl. “I managed to convince a few people to give up their time and money
to do some form of expedition with me, and the genesis of the trip was born.”
Carl
says that since he was 7 or 8 years old he was regularly “dragged around the
Peak District by my dad” and then spent most of his spare time whilst at university
in the Lake District: “I've always done a lot of climbing and hiking, so this
seems a good way to top it all off.”
As
you may have guessed, in preparation he’s been doing a huge amount of walking, also
taking trips to the lakes and Wales for more serious climbing. In addition to
all of this, Carl’s made sure to commit to plenty of early morning visits to
the gym this year, which we’re sure will pay off.
“We
are going with a professional crew of people led by our guide Mussa. You can
climb Kilimanjaro in three days but the chances of success are low because of
altitude sickness. We’re taking a more leisurely seven days to ensure we’re
fully acclimatised and give ourselves the best chance of summiting.”
“We’re
raising money for the Alzheimer's Society as I've seen over the last four years
or so the damage Alzheimer's and dementia can do to individuals – in my case,
my wife's parents – and the knock-on effects they can have on the whole family.
“It's
devastating to see family members become completely different people from those
you love. Finding a cure or better treatments for the disease is obviously of
paramount importance, but the society offers much more than that: help with
care, advice on symptoms and treatments, legal and financial support, access to
helplines and online communities, local dementia clinics and much more.
“With
many of us likely to live longer, the need for these services will continue to
grow and so this climb is just a little something to help support a very worthy
cause.”
Carl
and his fellow climbers have fully funded the trip to ensure that every penny
(bar a small admin fee) goes straight to the charity. You can add to his
fundraiser on Golden Giving, which is close to reaching its target of £1,000.
Meanwhile, Carl is very much enjoying his new role at SGS and says that it’s been great to work with colleagues in Tamworth and Hull, who have all been fab. We’re delighted to have him on board and he and his team are doing a fantastic job of developing the MySGS platform, which further enhances the way we all work on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, Carl is very much enjoying his new role at SGS and says that it’s been great to work with colleagues in Tamworth and Hull, who have all been fab. We’re delighted to have him on board and he and his team are doing a fantastic job of developing the MySGS platform, which further enhances the way we all work on a daily basis.
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