Irish farm software company Herdwatch has launched a campaign to raise money for the Chernobyl Children’s Project, by climbing the Devil’s Bit Mountain in Co. Tipperary on June 3.
The campaign, which is called ‘The Herd for Ukraine’, will see 25 team members take part in the hike, with some even committing to an ice bucket challenge at the summit.
Speaking to Agriland, CEO and founder of Herdwatch Fabien Peyaud said the company, which is part of the Farm Relief Services Network, had been trying to find a way to help out for a while. He said the conflict in Ukraine is close to their hearts.
“We have people in Ireland from Ukraine and we also have people working remotely over there. Thankfully, at the moment they’re all safe, they’re all so resilient and hard working but it’s on our minds all the time,” he said.
Peyaud said he and his team came together to come up with the idea for the fundraiser and wanted to do something that incorporated a bit of fun.
“We decided that we would try and climb the Devil’s Bit in Tipp. It’s very well known around here, it’s not that high but it is quite steep. We’re hoping for good weather on the day but we’ll be doing it regardless of that,” he said.
When the team reach the summit, they’ll host a short ceremony, sharing a few words and marking the company’s solidarity with a Ukrainian flag.
Each person taking part is raising funds through sponsorship via a GoFundMe page, which can be accessed on the ‘Blog’ section on the company’s website.
So far, ‘The Herd’ has raised €4,000 and it is hoped to reach the goal of €5,000 by the date of the climb. The fundraiser’s GoFundMe page states:
“So go ahead, please donate what you can and help us make The Devil’s Bit feel a little more like Everest. You can pick your favourite Herdwatch team member on the donation page, to help them get up the hill and avoid the ice bucket. We really appreciate your support.
“Every Euro collected will go to help Ukrainian people via the great charity funded by Adi Roche in 1991, The Chernobyl Children’s Project.”