Business Community Comes Together to Move Mountains for Sick Kids

A group of people from the business community, wanting to do good for the young patients at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, are coming together to take on Mount Kilimanjaro. 

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa with an elevation of 19,341 feet (5,895 metres) and the Kili4Kids Trek will see the 31-strong group fly to Tanzania in January for the trip.  

The idea for the trek came about after Mike Weaver, associate director and regional manager at professional services firm, WSP, decided he wanted to do something further to help the hospital’s patients following the charity’s annual Dragon Boat Race, in which WSP had a boat. A number of his colleagues also wanted to get involved. After getting in touch with the charity to share their plans, the challenge grew legs, with the charity helping to bring on other partners, bringing it up to a 31-strong group.  

The trek is being organised by Travel and Trek Limited. It will take the group eight days to climb and descend Kilimanjaro and the aim is to raise more than £200,000 for the 100,000 sick kids the hospital treats every year. 

Mike Weaver said: “I was really inspired to support the Children’s Hospital after learning about the amazing work it does. We’re so lucky to have a world-class facility on our doorstep, which supports so many young children, and I wanted to do my part to ensure they can continue their life-saving work.  

“I knew if we wanted to raise a significant sum of money, it would take an ambitious challenge, and Mount Kilimanjaro seemed like the perfect choice. I’m so looking forward to it and hope the business community will get behind us.”  

Mark Brider, chief executive officer of Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, who is also joining the trek, adds: “It’s brilliant for us to have gathered so many passionate individuals who are willing to push themselves to the limit for our young patients, and we’re so grateful to them. It’s an incredibly inspiring group, with an ambitious target in sight, however everyone is so highly motivated, I’m sure we’ll smash it.” 

31 people are taking part in the Kili4Kids Trek, from across 12 organisations, including Absolute Collagen, adi Group, Amtico, BSN, DLA Piper, Midland Engineering, Raccoon Events, Specsavers, Whanau, WSP, as well as a parent of a patient, and members from Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity and its Trust, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. 

If you would like to support the group’s fundraising, you can donate here: justgiving.com/team/bchkili2025. Alternatively, if you would like to organise your own challenge, please get in touch with the charity by emailing: bwc.corp[email protected]