Coeur Blanc Challenge 2022
THANK YOU! 10 MORE SCHOOLS FUNDED
A CHALLENGING, BEAUTIFUL AND SUCCESSFUL EVENT
On Saturday 19th March 2022, over 80 people took part in the annual Coeur Blanc Challenge resulting in a staggering £300,000 being raised funding 10 schools!
The Coeur Blanc Challenge is an annual event that is organised by Pier Taylor to test skiing abilities and raise substantial funding for charities. Founded in 2008, the challenge takes place in the Les Trois Vallées in the Alps and more specifically, Meribel which is home to 52 ski lifts. To complete the challenge the teams must complete a full journey on all 52 lifts within the valley during the course of a single day. This works out at one lift every nine minutes! Teams can choose their own routes, but whichever route is selected requires skiing the descent and ascent of over 15,000 metres - or two Mount Everests!
We began the challenge with a ceremony on Friday evening where all teams and supporters met at Arpasson Restaurant which is located picturesquely on top of one of the mountains in Meribel. Here Stefan gave a beautiful speech about the cause and to remind everyone of the WHY behind the event. The momentum in the room was uplifted and with tears in many eyes, a final ‘cheers’ was given before preparing for the torchlight descent down the mountain.
If you have never seen or been a part of a torchlight ski, we can highly recommend it - it was beautiful. Imagine, 80 people skiing down the mountain in unison, with the only light being from the fire on the torches and the moonlight. There couldn’t have been a better way to start the challenge.
On Saturday 19th, the day of the challenge, at 8:30am the first lift opened especially for the event and the challenge began! The teams embarked on their 52 ski lift journey which had to be completed by 5:30pm on the same day. We were very lucky and were blessed with fantastic conditions and glorious sun. Oli was definitely looking down on us.
Max and Alex (Oli’s brother and sister) were taking part in the challenge as ‘Oli’s Olympians’, they were competing as the first team to ever do it on snowboards! Max rode the challenge on Oli’s snowboard meaning Oli was then there at all times cheering them on in the challenge.
Not even stopping for lunch, all teams powered through and completed the challenge - some even in record times! Oli’s Olympians came fourth in the challenge and were very pleased with their achievement.
We are so grateful for everyone's hard work and dedication to the Coeur Blanc Challenge. From this challenge alone we have been able to fund another 10 schools helping us reach the 35/100 schools funded! The Magic Future Foundation would like to thank all teams and sponsors involved in the challenge. You have made a world of difference to the cause, impacting the lives of the children and teachers for generations to come in such an amazing way. The 10 Coeur Blanc Schools will be built early 2023. We cannot wait to show you the progress of the schools in build. Oli would be proud.
Want to be involved in our next big event? Keep your eyes out for an announcement soon…
#WORLDBETTERBECAUSE
The Magic Future Foundation
The Magic Future Foundation was founded in 2012 by Stefan Wissenbach and his wife Diana. The Foundation’s aim is to build sustainable schools in some of the world’s poorest countries in partnership with buildOn, a US non-profit organisation with an unparalleled record of having built more than 2000 schools over the last 28 years; all but two (which were stricken by natural disasters) are still in operation. The sustainability of buildOn’s schools is due to long-established smart co-operation between buildOn, governments and local communities; equal numbers of girls and boys are educated, and many of the schools operate adult education programmes.
The Magic Future Foundation built four schools in Mali and Malawi with buildOn in 2014-15 and has now launched an ambitious project to build 100 more...
The 100 Schools Project
On 10 September 2019 at 8am, Stefan, Diana, Alex and Max discovered the body of their beloved son and brother, Oli, lying peacefully at the bottom of a swimming pool whilst on a family holiday in Menorca. He was just 25 years old. The subsequent diagnosis was that he had suffered from ‘sudden adult death syndrome’. He had died unexpectedly, doing something he loved, taking a late-night swim. He was a fit young man, and a qualified snowboard and diving instructor. The family are still coming to terms with their loss.
In order to create a positive legacy from this tragedy, the family and the Foundation have activated a project — long planned by Stefan and buildOn founder Jim Ziolkowski — to build 100 Schools in honour of Oli. Ten schools have been built in the last year, and details can be seen here.
Stefan and Diana, with Oli’s sister Alex and brother Max, will attend Coeur Blanc 2022. Max and Alex will be competing with Max using Oli’s snowboard.
Locations
Oli’s 100 Schools will be built in Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Haiti, Mali, Malawi, Nepal, Nicaragua and Senegal.
Coeur Blanc 2022
Coeur Blanc 2022 is proud to support this remarkable initiative: our contribution will significantly accelerate progress towards the target of 100 Schools funded, built and sustained. All Coeur Blanc funds raised will go towards building schools.
THE Exciting Team Opportunity
Any individual Coeur Blanc team that raises £30,000 or more are given the option of naming a school. More importantly, team members have the opportunity to visit the village where their school is being built, attend the signing of the covenant, be present at the ground-breaking ceremony and support the first few days of the build.
You can watch a short video of the Wissenbach family, with Oli, attending their first school build at Jumbo, Malawi, here: it was a life-changing experience which Stefan will be delighted to discuss with interested Coeur Blanc participants.
Tax Benefits
UK taxpayers’ donation and sponsorship payments via the Just Giving website will attract 25% Gift Aid from HMRC.
US taxpayers’ donations and sponsorship payments will attract US tax benefits if paid via buildOn (where funds received will be ringfenced for The Magic Future Foundation) which has 501(C)(3) status as a tax-exempt non-profit organisation.