Wendy Noble, a leader with 7th Hawick Brownies, will be trekking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu in October to raise funds for Girlguiding.
She has been given this trip-of-a-lifetime opportunity through Girlguiding to join other volunteer fund-raisers to one of the most iconic sights in South America.
She will fly from London to the capital Lima for the ten-day trek through the Peruvian Andes. It will be no relaxing holiday but days of hectic treks lasting from five to 12 hours and tackling high mountain passes of between 3,000 and 4,500 metres. However, they do have a free day in Cuzo prior to the return flight to London.
Wendy told The Hawick Paper: “This trek has been on my wish list for many years, so I’m thrilled to have secured a place for my challenge.”
The former Trinity and high school pupil has made £4,000 as her fund-raising target, “very ambitious” she told us, so is trying different ways to achieve that goal rather than relying on sponsorship alone.
Already the 44-year-old of Whitehaugh View, has raised £1,500 from donations and activities such as a coffee morning/afternoon at her parent’s home in Marmion Road; PartyLite candle party; sales table at Borders General Hospital; Brownie family and friends evening with sales table; quiz sheets; weekly bake sales at her place of work; and tea afternoon with scones
and cakes in the Guide
hut.
Wendy has lots of other events planned with a second sales table at the BGH, May 27; bag-packing at Morrisons supermarket, June 1; coffee morning at Trinity church hall, July 13; garden party at Kirkton (hosted by Marion Chrystie), August 18, and she has had a doll donated for a ‘guess the birthday’ draw.
That gives Teries plenty of opportunities to support her fund-raiser.
Wendy started with 3rd Hawick Brownies when aged seven, moving up to 2nd Hawick Guides three years later and completing her Baden Powell badge.
As there was no Ranger unit in the town when she finished in the Guides, she joined Hawick Venture Scouts, also becoming a young leader at 7th Hawick Brownies to keep her involvement in the Guides.
While at university in Paisley, Wendy transferred to 25th Castlehead Brownies with whom she gained her adult warrant.
On returning to Hawick, she was assistant leader with 3rd Hawick Brownies until it was forced to close due to lack of numbers. Since then she has been leader with 7th Hawick Brownies.
Following her four years at the University of Paisley where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in business economics with finance, Wendy returned to Hawick in June 1996.
After spending four months as a sales assistant at what was then the White of Hawick knitwear shop in Victoria Road (a summer job she had while at university), she started as a trainee accounts assistant with Welch & Co, now JRW. She is currently a tax manager at their office in Buccleuch Street.
Her parents, Alison and John Blaikie, of Marmion Road, told us: “We are thrilled that through Girlguiding she has been given the opportunity to join other volunteers on the Machu Picchu Challenge, raising funds for Girlguiding and to make her dream come true.
“We are so proud that she is taking this on and wish her well for a wonderful time with many happy memories to bring back.”
To donate to Wendy’s fund-raising go to justgiving.com/fundraising/wendynoble
SHARE THIS STORY:
