Bristol Inclusive Thrill Seekers (BITS) 

Bristol Inclusive Thrill Seekers (BITS) are a newly formed, volunteer led charity in Bristol that provides people of all abilities and backgrounds the opportunity to take part in adventure sports.

BITS joined Localgiving in January 2019. The group  initially joined to access Gift Aid as an unregistered charity. Less than 6 months later, BITS are now a fully registered charity and have already raised over £4000 through the online platform.

BITS have taken full advantage of the wide array of services and campaigns on offer through their Localgiving membership – from competitions to grants.

In April 2019 BITS took part in Local Hero, an annual competition that challenges fundraisers from around the UK to compete for a place on the leaderboard and a top-prize of £1000.

The idea for Team BITS’s challenge quickly evolved from a chat among friends to an 11 man cycling team making their way from Bristol to Amsterdam. After a toughly fought competition the BITS team finished in 6th place on the Local Hero Leaderboard, winning a prize of £200 – adding to the incredible £3000 they had brought in through donations.

James Rudge, Co-Founder of BITS, was a member of the cycle team.  James said:

“One of the team, a keen cyclist, had been talking up the ride to Amsterdam for a while. Once we got a few people on-board, the idea snowballed. We did a 50 mile practice ride and a few fun day rides. It was a real challenge and was great to raise a glass to our achievement once we reached Amsterdam”.

“The Local Hero competition was a real roller-coaster. I pushed the campaign through all of our social media channels - regularly updating our Instagram  throughout the ride. We also made a couple of videos - eye-catching media is important to grab people’s attention. We were pleased to make it onto the final table and win a prize for BITS”.

“The funds raised will be used in various ways. We are reserving a bit for core costs and insurance.  Some will also go on setting up and promoting out latest activity- Parkour sessions”

BITS have also recently benefited from a £500 Magic Little Grant. This award will specifically be spent on training volunteers to run climbing workshops for people with hearing impairments.

BITS have made a huge impact in their community in the short time they have been around and, with the funds raised through Localgiving’s services and campaigns they are looking for ways to reach new beneficiaries.  As James explained:

“At the moment we mainly reach people through word of mouth.  Using the money raised through localgiving we hope to reach new audiences by making little packs that we can distribute among SEN coordinators in local schools”.

 

 

To find out more about The Bristol Inclusive Thrill Seekers amazing work and donate please visit: https://localgiving.org/charity/the-bristol-inclusive-thrill-seekers/