Tatchu Picchu: How far would you go to raise money for charity?

How far would you go to raise money for charity? Priyanka Rai tells us about a second year student’s unconventional fundraising campaign.

We all know someone who’s taken part in a Kent RaG (Raise and Give) challenge, whether it be climbing Kilimanjaro for the Meningitis Research Foundation, cycling from London to Paris for Breast Cancer Now, or skydiving for Dementia UK, it’s all you can ever see on your Facebook feed. Whilst everyone’s fundraising for a charitable cause, each year it becomes slightly more difficult to come up with original fundraising ideas; something that will make economically challenged students like ourselves give up the pitiful amount of money we do have.  Someone who doesn’t have this problem is second year student Isabel Railson, who will be taking part in the Kent RaG Machu Picchu Trek in September in order to raise money for Action Against Hunger, a charity that provide families all over the world with proper nutrition and clean water.

Rather than resorting to classic fundraising techniques such as donut sales or pub quizzes, Isabel’s decided to go for something a little more extreme to get people’s attention (and money) – Endearingly entitled ‘Tatchu Picchu’, she’s chosen to get a small mountain with the initials of the person who donates the most money to her in the next six months, tattooed on to her body. Daring (or maybe crazy), to say the least.

When asked about why she chose the unconventional ‘Tatchu Picchu’ idea to fundraise, Isabel told Inquire “I wanted to do something that was going to be original; I have fundraised in the past and have learned that you need to really get people interested in an exciting way. Being at University, the majority of my friends are students, and I wanted something that was going to appeal to them.”

Whilst many would be more than slightly apprehensive about having someone’s initials permanently inked on to their skin, Isabel who currently has no tattoos sees the experience in a positive light, stating that it would be “a fun way to commemorate [her] trek as well as first ever tattoo!” Furthermore she has already planned where  she would like to get the inking, inspired by a friends toe tattoo, Isabel thinks that it would be a quirky placement “to represent the steps it took to reach the top” of Machu Picchu.

Although she initially thought of ‘Tatchu Picchu’ in order to appeal to her friends, Isabel wants to stress that anyone is welcome to donate so that she is able to raise as much money as well as awareness as she can for Action Against Hunger a charity which do a huge amount to saves the lives of severely malnourished children and restore the livelihoods of families all around the world.

So if you want to donate to make a difference or simply want the chance to have your initials permanently inked on Isabel’s big toe (an appealing thought if they spell out something unfortunate), then click here to donate and follow this link to track Isabel’s progress on Twitter.