Wisbech man Craig Kitching to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Arthur Rank Hospice

A 48-year-old is taking on an extraordinary challenge to raise money for a hospice charity.

Craig Kitching, from Wisbech, is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world, in aid of the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity.

The intense challenge will take Craig ten days to complete in January, and he is preparing for it both “physically and mentally”.

Craig has launched a JustGiving page in hopes of raising as much money as possible for Arthur Rank, which supports and makes people comfortable towards the end of their life.

Craig was inspired to raise money for the hospice after The Alan Hudson Day Centre in Wisbech, which comes under the Arthur Rank umbrella, supported both his mum and father-in-law.

“I think they do an amazing job, I thought why not try and raise a few pounds to help people with their end of life care?” Craig said.

“I want to try and give people a better quality of life at the end of their life.”

He added: “My mum had terrific support from Emma Warner, who is a specialist nurse at the Alan Hudson Centre. She does wonderful work in the Wisbech community as well as all the team at the Alan Hudson Centre.

“My father-in-law Tom used the centre for his treatment.

“He took part in activities, including making all the family paper hedgehogs. He loved all music and enjoyed the Christmas parties that were held there for the patients.”

Craig has set himself a target to raise £10,000.

“This is something I had to do solo,” he said.

“I wanted to do it for two reasons. One is for my own self-achievement, and the second is for the Arthur Rank.”

Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano in Tanzania, Africa. It is 6,000 metres high.