The firewalkers’ feet have recovered and they have done amazingly by raising much needed funds. They have certificates to prove that they completed their personal challenge and walked through hot coals! The four of them were fantastic and so brave.
Thank you so much Alistair, David, Joanne and Alison for taking part in the challenge and for fundraising. To everyone who has donated so far, many thanks for your generosity. Please, if you can give and you haven’t done yet…the links are here: for Joanne & Alison https://gofund.me/c127c5e9 and https://gofund.me/9430b2af for Alistair and David.
All the photos and videos are in the stories below. Thank you firewalkers, Sarah x
Just a quick blog tonight as I have been busy doing a grant application. Our four firewalkers were absolutely fabulous and great sports. We are so grateful that they all stepped up to the challenge and stepped out of their comfort zone to raise much needed funds.
They’ve done brilliantly – thanks to everyone who has donated so far. However, if you’ve not donated yet, please could you? We would love both teams to get to £1,000 and they aren’t far off!
You can access photos, videos and links to their fundraisers by clicking on their stories.
Thanks again to Allander Rotary for organising this event and supporting our charity and to Milngavie Guides for hosting the event. Of course the biggest thank you goes to Joanne, Alison, Alistair and David for walking over hot coals for charity. Thanks, Sarah x
Have a look at these great photos and videos of two teachers at Balfron High School who completed a firewalk to raise much needed funds.
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Sarah’s blog 28/3/24
Our four firewalkers were fantastic! Thank you so much if you have already donated…if you haven’t please can you fire in a few £££ as it all makes a big difference and will show how much we value our four amazing volunteers who really challenged themselves.
I shared Joanne and Alison’s firewalk photos and videos earlier in the week. Their fundraising link is https://gofund.me/c127c5e9 They are raising funds for textbooks and a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School in Malawi.
The teachers wanted to share their photos and videos with students at Balfron High School before putting them on social media. That happened yesterday and they made approximately £130 in donations yesterday lunchtime. Thanks to everyone who gave some money to watch the videos at school! Their fundraising link is https://gofund.me/9430b2af . The teachers are donating half of their funds to Changing Lives Malawi and half is going to next year’s volunteering school trip to Zanzibar. So here are some photos and videos of Alistair Blair & David Braid from Sunday’s firewalk.
Thank you again to Allander Rotary for organising the firewalk and to Milngavie Guides for hosting the event. It was a brilliant evening. To see Joanne and Alison’s photos and videos again here is their link Joanne & Alison’s Fantastic Firewalk
Thank you everyone and please do put a few £££ in the pot if you haven’t already done so, Sarah x
A great photo of David Braid (left) and Alistair Blair, teachers at Balfron High, big smiles after their firewalk challenge
What an amazing evening it was last night for our four firewalkers taking part in the charity firewalk event in Milngavie, organised by Allander Rotary Club.
We are going to share Joanne and Alison’s photos and videos first of all. David Braid and Alistair Blair, who are teachers at Balfron High School, want to do a presentation to students at school on Wednesday. We have said we will share their photos and videos after Wednesday. So here goes for Joanne & Alison – thankfully their feet have survived ok…Joanne got a blister and they both had very dirty feet that needed a good wash before bedtime!
Joanne Byrne is my younger (and much braver than me) sister. She owns Killearn Driving School. Joanne has had a rough few years as she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy, several other operations due to infections and is now waiting for reconstructive surgery. She is such an amazingly strong person and I am so proud that she challenged herself to do this firewalk. She was amazing! It’s not the first time she has raised money for Changing Lives Malawi so we are very grateful.
Alison Rennie is Joanne’s best friend and such a lovely person. She is a friend to everyone and always has a big smile. She has issues with her joints and can be very tired due to having lupus. Despite this, Alison was up for a challenge and did brilliantly last night. She had a minor mishap prior to the firewalk….she nearly got stuck in the toilet! She assured us she wasn’t trying to get out of the firewalk but was genuinely worried she would miss it! Thankfully, she made it out on time!
Thank you to everyone who has donated already. If you haven’t then we would be very grateful if you could give a few £££. Their link is https://gofund.me/c127c5e9 Enjoy the photos and videos!
All money will be going towards building a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School and buying textbooks. Currently, the teachers are using classroom 4 as their staffroom. However, in September, there will be another intake of students and all four classrooms will be in use for teaching. Also more teachers will need to be employed by September so a staffroom is a necessity for them. As there is no S4 yet, we have no textbooks for next year’s S4 students yet, so this is another essential resource we are fundraising for.
Many thanks to Allander Rotary for organising the event and to Milngavie Guides for hosting. Thank you again to all our supporters and to Joanne & Alison and David & Alistair for being such good sports and taking part to help give vulnerable students a brighter future in rural northern Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x
NB Apologies for the poor quality of some of the photos – smoke from the fire was to blame rather than my bad photography lol.
Alison, Alistair, David and Joanne…. our four fantastic firewalkers!
It’s getting very exciting now! Only two days to go until our four fearless firewalkers get to do their fundraising firewalk on Sunday evening.
If anyone wanted to attend in person, it’s at 7pm at the Guide Hall in Milngavie on Sunday Evening. But don’t worry if you can’t…there will be photos and videos that we will share!
T-shirts with the Changing Lives Malawi logo have arrived and we are looking forward to Sunday evening. Thanks to Allander Rotary Club for organising this event and being so supportive of our charity.
My sister, Joanne Byrne (Killearn Driving School) , and her friend, Alison Rennie, are fundraising for Bright Futures Secondary School to have a staffroom and new textbooks. Their fundraising link is https://gofund.me/c127c5e9
Mr Blair and Mr Braid, teachers from Balfron High School, are giving half of their money to Changing Lives Malawi towards the staffroom and new textbooks, and half of their money raised is going towards next year’s school trip to Zanzibar where 20 students will be doing voluntary work within local communities. To donate to them it’s https://gofund.me/9430b2af
Thank you to everyone who has donated so far….we really appreciate all the help we receive whilst we try to support vulnerable children and young people to be the best they can be and have opportunities they wouldn’t usually have had. Thank you, Sarah x
Our charity and our brave firewalkers have made the local and national news!!
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Sarah’s blog 4/3/24
Well, last week the story of our four amazing firewalkers appeared in our local paper, The Stirling Observer. This week it is in the national paper – The Daily Record. Thank you to both of these newspapers for running this story and raising awareness of our charity and the firewalking event organised by Allander Rotary. The firewalk is taking place in Milngavie on 24th March.
We are raising funds for a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School and to buy more textbooks. All of the money that my sister Joanne and her best friend Alison raise will go to our charity. Their link to donate is https://gofund.me/c127c5e9
Also, we have Mr Braid and Mr Blair, teachers from our local school – Balfron High School. Their fundraising is half for our charity and half for next year’s school trip volunteering in Zanzibar. Their fundraising link is https://gofund.me/9430b2af
Please show your support for these four brave volunteers as they raise much needed funds. Thank you for your support, Sarah x
David Braid and Alistair Blair
Alison Rennie and Joanne Byrne
Allander Rotary Club are organising this firewalk on 24th March in Milngavie
Introducing our four amazing firewalkers; Alistair Blair and David Braid – teachers at Balfron High School and Joanne Byrne and Alison Rennie. Good luck and thank you!
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Sarah’s blog 27/02/24
Have you ever fancied walking across hot coals? Not me….I’m not brave enough for that! Luckily we have four (willing) volunteers who are going to do just that!
Allander Rotary Club are organising a Firewalk on Sunday 24th March in Milngavie and Changing Lives Malawi is one of their three chosen charities. We are very fortunate to have their support and it’s much appreciated.
Let me introduce our fearless firewalkers!
Team 1 – Joanne Byrne & Alison Rennie
Joanne Byrne (right) is my sister and has raised funds for us before for the shower block and a latrine block. Alison Rennie is Joanne’s best friend and didn’t even hesitate when she was asked if she wanted to take part in this challenge!
All of the money raised by Joanne & Alison will be going towards building a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School and buying more textbooks for the next intake of students. https://gofund.me/c127c5e9
Team 2 – Alistair Blair & David Braid
DHT Mr Braid (left) and Mr Blair (English Dept)
Mr Blair is a teacher in the English Department at Balfron High School and Mr Braid is one of the Deputy Head Teachers at BHS. We are delighted that they have agreed to do this challenge and we are very grateful for their support.
You can read more about Mr Blair and Mr Braid’s fundraising by clicking on their Go Fund Me link, but half the money they raise will come to Changing Lives Malawi towards the new staffroom and purchasing more textbooks for Bright Futures Secondary School. https://gofund.me/9430b2af
The other half of the money that the teachers will raise is going to the Zanzibar School Trip in 2025. Twenty current S4 students at Balfron High School will be going to work with three local communities supported by Mr Blair and Miss Vickers.
There will be more posts and more information but, as this event is only just over a month away, please donate, please share, please tell your friends and with teamwork we can make a difference to young people who are living in extreme poverty. Education is the way out of poverty and by donating a few £££ these children and young people will have choices, chances and opportunities that they wouldn’t previously have had. There are more photos and information on each team’s Go Fund Me link.
Thank you Joanne, Alison, Alistair and David for agreeing to this challenge and thank you to you all in advance for donating and sharing. You can keep up to date with progress by signing up for my blogs on our website or following us on social media. Thanks, Sarah x
Introducing our four amazing firewalkers; Alistair Blair and David Braid – teachers at Balfron High School and Joanne Byrne and Alison Rennie. Good luck and thank you!
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Sarah’s blog 19/02/24
Have you ever fancied walking across hot coals? Not me….I’m not brave enough for that! Luckily we have four (willing) volunteers who are going to do just that!
Allander Rotary Club are organising a Firewalk on Sunday 24th March in Milngavie and Changing Lives Malawi is one of their three chosen charities. We are very fortunate to have their support and it’s much appreciated.
Let me introduce our fearless firewalkers!
Team 1 – Joanne Byrne & Alison Rennie
Joanne Byrne (right) is my sister and has raised funds for us before for the shower block and a latrine block. Alison Rennie is Joanne’s best friend and didn’t even hesitate when she was asked if she wanted to take part in this challenge!
All of the money raised by Joanne & Alison will be going towards building a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School and buying more textbooks for the next intake of students. https://gofund.me/c127c5e9
Team 2 – Alistair Blair & David Braid
DHT Mr Braid (left) and Mr Blair (English Dept)
Mr Blair is a teacher in the English Department at Balfron High School and Mr Braid is one of the Deputy Head Teachers at BHS. We are delighted that they have agreed to do this challenge and we are very grateful for their support.
You can read more about Mr Blair and Mr Braid’s fundraising by clicking on their Go Fund Me link, but half the money they raise will come to Changing Lives Malawi towards the new staffroom and purchasing more textbooks for Bright Futures Secondary School. https://gofund.me/9430b2af
The other half of the money that the teachers will raise is going to the Zanzibar School Trip in 2025. Twenty current S4 students at Balfron High School will be going to work with three local communities supported by Mr Blair and Miss Vickers.
There will be more posts and more information but, as this event is only just over a month away, please donate, please share, please tell your friends and with teamwork we can make a difference to young people who are living in extreme poverty. Education is the way out of poverty and by donating a few £££ these children and young people will have choices, chances and opportunities that they wouldn’t previously have had. There are more photos and information on each team’s Go Fund Me link.
Thank you Joanne, Alison, Alistair and David for agreeing to this challenge and thank you to you all in advance for donating and sharing. You can keep up to date with progress by signing up for my blogs on our website or following us on social media. Thanks, Sarah x
Joanne Byrne, my sister (on right of photo) and her best friend, Alison Rennie, decided in a moment of madness that they were up for the challenge of firewalking!! Thank you so much to both of them for being brilliant sports.
Alison Rennie (left) and Joanne Byrne are our first team of firewalkers!
Allander Rotary Club in Milngavie is hosting this Firewalk event on Sunday 24th March. Alison and Joanne will be doing the firewalk on behalf of Changing Lives Malawi. We are raising money for a teachers’ staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School – teachers are currently using classroom four as we only have students in years 1-3. However, in September, with the next intake of students, all four classrooms will be needed. More teachers will be employed, hence the need for a dedicated staffroom. We are also needing S4 textbooks as we don’t have any of these yet.
So here is the link to Joanne and Alison’s fundraiser. We will be sharing more information about them and our goals over the next few weeks. https://gofund.me/c127c5e9
We are very fortunate to have two teams of firewalkers…the second team will be introduced next week.
We know we ask a lot of our supporters and we are extremely grateful for all the help we get…it is a real team effort and we appreciate each and every one of you. However, if you can share posts so we can reach a wider audience that would be really helpful and if you are able to make a donation to support the girls, that would be amazing. Thanks everyone, Sarah x
