AES Solar’s Summer Solstice Charity Walk

AES Solar’s Summer Solstice Charity Walk

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AES Solar to complete a Summer Solstice charity walk to raise funds for a local charity.

A team of AES Solar staff will undertake the Moray Coast Trail overnight on Wednesday the 21st of June. The Moray Coast Trail is a long-distance path in North-East Scotland. It runs along the coastline of the Moray Council area. The route, which is 72 km long (44.9 miles), runs between Cullen and Forres.

The team will complete the walk in stages as smaller groups in a relay format. Group 1 will start in Cullen at 6 PM, with Group 4 aiming to arrive at the office in Forres by 10 AM on the 22nd. The walk will take place on the Summer Solstice to celebrate our role as Scottish solar specialists. This will also provide the teams with as much light possible on the “longest day/shortest night of the year”. What a way to welcome the first official day of summer!

The group timings are as followed:

  • Group 1 – Cullen to Buckie 6.00 PM – 8.45 PM (12 km)
  • Group 2 – Buckie to Lossiemouth 8.45 PM – 2.00 AM (25.25 km)
  • Group 3 – Lossiemouth to Burghead 2 AM – 5.45 AM (14.5 (km)
  • Group 4 – Burghead to Forres 5.45 AM – 10 AM (20.5 km)

MORAY COAST TRAIL – MARC HINDLEY/MORAY MEDIA CIC

Trail Blazers

The relay format will ensure that we can remain fully operational the next day. As such our customers will face minimal disruption. This will also give those who walked through the night a chance to rest up in the afternoon after we welcome the last group back to the office around 10 AM with a breakfast celebration.

The Moray Coast Trail is suitable for a wide range of users with the more experienced walkers guiding and taking part in the late-night sessions. With our varying experience and fitness levels, this also makes for a great fundraising opportunity. AES Solar have a proud history of fundraising challenges. This includes the Three Peaks Challenge in 2018 which raised over £3,500 for the British Heart Foundation. We also walked The Dava Way in 2019 for our 40th year in business raising £2390 for SAMH. However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, we had to put a pause on our larger fundraising activities.

Environmental Action in the Community

With that in mind, we have decided to dedicate any fundraising efforts raised during this challenge towards our charity of the year REAP – (Rural Environmental Action Project). REAP is a local environmental and sustainable development charity based in Keith, Moray.

REAP Logo

The charity looks forward to a world where everyone can afford to heat their homes, eat well and benefit from a healthy and sustainable environment. They work towards this by delivering projects and services to meet local needs and aims, including local food and free and impartial energy advice. This charity is doing incredibly important work with the cost of living crisis. They focus on areas that are close to our hearts and align with our own values.

A group of people from AES Solar and REAP gather for a photo to celebrate the summer solstice charity walk

PETER AND KIERA DELIVER A SOLAR POWER TRAINING SESSION FOR REAP

Motivational Light

We understand times are hard. Therefore we kindly ask anyone who feels able to spare a donation, no matter how small it may seem, to give what they can to our JustGiving page to be the motivational light on the night-time trek ahead of us.

Your donations will not only go towards supporting this vital service. It will also provide us with the welcome motivation and encouragement needed to face the walk ahead, especially during the wee hours!

Sign post showing the route for the summer solstice charity walk
Message from the CSR Committee

The AES Solar CSR Committee said of the challenge: “We are pleased to announce the news of our fundraising challenge for 2023. Fundraising and giving back to the local community have always been incredibly important to AES Solar. While we were still able to continue this in smaller ways during the covid-19 pandemic there’s nothing quite like the camaraderie and team spirit of a big group challenge.

REAP was selected as our charity of the year back in January thanks to the incredibly important work they carry out. This became all too necessary with the ongoing cost of living crisis. And we are now delighted to fundraise for this very welcome cause with our starlight charity walk. After all, we may be self-confessed sun worshippers but the sun is our only star in the solar system! Every donation no matter how big or small will make a real difference, not only to REAP but also to our spirits and sore legs for the challenge ahead.”