Chesterfield woman's camping experience raises £1200 to fund emergency shelters for homeless victims of war or disaster

Kate Brookbank spent six nights under canvas in a friend's back garden to raise money for the Tent for Lent appeal run by the ShelterBox charity.

She said: "Originally I was hoping to raise money for one tent (£385) but people were so generous we raised over £1,200."

Kate said that she found the camping quite an experience. "Sponsored events are not meant to be easy and sleeping in a tent when the last time I did that was probably 40 years ago, was going to be a challenge," she said. "The ‘sleeping in a tent’ certainly gave me some unusual experiences; sleeping in minus 3 conditions, waking up in frost and then defrosting the car ready for work. Being woken up by the milkman on his normal delivery at 2.30 in the morning. (I had no idea that they delivered milk that early in the morning). One morning I woke up with the edge of the tent canvas in my face as I had rolled over during the night and down a slight slope into the side of the tent.”

She was inspired to take on the challenge after a boiler fault left her home freezing cold. Kate said: “The next day an envelope came through the door advertising the charity ShelterBox asking for donations for emergency shelters and life saving essentials for families all around the world left without a home due to war or disaster.”

Kate, who is over 50, works in an administrative role at Chesterfield Borough Council.

Hollie Clements, community fundraising officer for ShelterBox, said: "Kate has raised a fantastic amount with her Tent for Lent challenge, braving the cold and sleeping in a tent to help raise money for our international disaster relief charity.

"We rely heavily on public donations at ShelterBox to provide emergency shelter to people who have lost their homes to conflict or disaster. It is fundraisers like Kate that make the work that we do possible."

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