Horley dad takes on mountain challenge for East Surrey Hospital

Ashwini (Ash) Gopu is aiming to climb 18,510 feet to the summit of Mount Elbrus in Russia during an 11-day expedition for SASH Charity.

Father-of-two Ash said: “I discovered the joy of climbing when I scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in September 2018 to raise funds for a children’s education charity.

“I had never climbed a hill, never slept in tents or experienced -17C.

“With a seven day ascent to 19,820ft, my physical endurance had reached its limit, but this pain taught me a lot about myself, about being mentally strong, having faith in people and the immense joy in supporting others challenges.”

More news:

Investors tour Crawley in search of business opportunities

Sussex police officer jobs up for grabs

M23 road closures from June 17 - here’s all you need to know

SASH Charity is launching an appeal to raise money for a new neonatal unit for premature or unwell babies and families.

The fundraising will help provide enhanced care to families, through additional state-of-the-art incubators and helping to create family rooms, which can be relaxing space away from the clinical environment.

Ash, who works in digital healthcare, said: “I’m on a mission to raise funds for the neonatal unit at SASH, the littlest feet make the biggest footprints in our heart.

“I hope that my story of small adventures on big mountains is enough to inspire you to donate generously.

“All the proceedings from these fundraising activities will go directly to the SASH Charity.”

Andrew Bickerdike, fundraising manager for SASH Charity, said: “We are so pleased that Ash is supporting our latest project. Appeals like these are so important and we want to encourage everyone in our local community to help make a difference, especially to help the babies who come into the world a little sooner than expected.”

You can sponsor Ashwini at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ashg and join the conversation online using #ASH4SASH