Bertie Portal: Blazing a Trail

Bertie Portal: Blazing a Trail Tackling the toughest footrace on earth

1 desert, 6 days, 120°F, 250km…

Imagine yourself in the Sahara desert with nothing but rolling sand dunes for miles around. When you plough your feet through the sand, a fine dust kicks up. You can’t feel the sweat dripping down your face because it’s evaporating in the baking heat. Your lungs feel parched. Today’s temperature is over 100°F, and you have another 30km to run.

Facing the Atlantic In 2012 actor Bertie Portal completed the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. The crossing was completed with rowing partner James Cash and together they experienced mountainous seas, broken oars, capsize and madness. The crossing took 59 days. They had never been to sea before. They raised over £400,000 and their efforts were covered by media outlets including The Telegraph, The Guardian, Daily Express, The Independent, GQ Magazine, London’s Evening Standard, The Times and ITV’s Daybreak.

The toughest footrace on earth The Marathon des Sables is Bertie’s next challenge and it is a gruelling multi-stage adventure through a formidable landscape in one of the world’s most inhospitable climates - the Sahara desert. Under the scorching Moroccan sun, participants spend an unimaginable six days running 250km across saltpans, up desert-mountains, through ruined towns and enduring the occasional sand storm. Participants are self-sufficient, carrying with them on their back everything except water that they need to survive. They are given a place in a tent to sleep at night, but any other equipment and food must be carried.

Started in 1986 by Patrick Bauer, the race is now in its 29th year and attracts over 1,000 runners, 200 members of the press and a support team of 400+.

Places are much sought after by amateur and elite runners from all over the world, making the Marathon des Sables a truly international event.

With a high drop out rate, speed is vital and Bertie’s training has begun in earnest. Back-to-back marathons and ultra marathons are just some of the events that Bertie is using in preparation for the race in April 2014.

Bertie Portal: Inspiration and philanthropy Bertie Portal has appeared in The King’s Speech, The Iron Lady and My Week with Marilyn. He is currently working on a film about Turner with Mike Leigh. He has also appeared in the West End, at the RSC and at the National Theatre.

Through this desert challenge he aims to raise £200,000 for Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity. This money will help provide vital support to families who have a terminally ill child. Bertie is a long-term supporter of Rainbow Trust and believes that every family should have the support they need at this unimaginably difficult time.

My Week with Marilyn

Bertie Portal says: “Rainbow Trust is an extraordinary charity working for terminally ill children and their families. I have seen at first hand the courage and selflessness not only of the children themselves but of the wonderful people at Rainbow Trust who will stop at nothing to give families the help, support and love they need whenever and however they need it. No one should have to outlive their child. It is quite simply unthinkable.

Rainbow Trust are the next best thing to a miracle. As one parent so memorably put it “Rainbow Trust is like the best friend you wish you never had”. I am so proud to be involved with this charity and my mission is to raise as much as is humanly possible between now and the finish line next April. But first I need to get out and do a quick 31 miles of training!”.

“Rainbow Trust doesn’t feel like a charity, it just feels like an extra part of our life. They’re here to make things easier for us, not just me or Loren, but the whole family.” Mark, Loren’s Dad

An unthinkable journey Imagine being told one of your children has a life threatening illness.

You are plunged into endless hospital appointments. Fear. Confusion.

Uncertainty over the future. This is the reality facing 5,000 families each year. The emotional and practical strains of the illness and treatment are extremely challenging for every family member. Rainbow Trust supports 1,300 of these families during a time that changes their lives forever, providing vital expert emotional and practical support.

Today Rainbow Trust is the leading organisation for these vulnerable families. No one else offers the full range of services they do. Their nine teams of Family Support Workers across the country are there to help the whole family; from diagnosis, through treatment and, for some, after bereavement.

Support is individually tailored to each family’s needs and can include: •

•

•

•

Driving a family to hospital because Mum can’t cope with the needs of a child who is on a drip as well as a restless toddler and her own apprehensions about the treatment, whilst driving through London Reassuring a sibling through tailored crafts and play sessions that her brother’s cancer isn’t a big bad monster coming to get her too Listening to the fears of a Mum who phoned our helpline at 3am because she can’t sleep for worrying about the latest news from the doctors Visiting a child’s grave with a family as they may not be strong enough to go alone, and want someone who knew their son whilst he was alive.

Bertie is tackling his own unthinkable journey by running across the Sahara, and his motivation is that there are many more families that need Rainbow Trust’s vital support.

Corporate Sponsorship Sponsorship packages can be tailor made to suit your company. For full details or to discuss any opportunities or ideas please contact Nicola O’Donnell at Rainbow Trust on 01372 220089, nicola.odonnell@rainbowtrust.org.uk Sponsorship Benefit

£100k

£50k

£20k

£10k

£5k

Sole branding at the exclusive launch party in October 2013 in central London, plus the opportunity to make a speech and provide branded goody bags

Y

-

-

-

-

Where applicable, branding opportunities across marketing materials and equipment; photos showcasing this will be used in national press releases

Y

Y

-

-

-

Opportunity to have Bertie Portal attend your own key event as a motivational speaker or guest

Y

Y

Y

-

-

Tailored PR output for your company – local/regional/trade press incl. print and broadcast interviews

Y

Y

Y

Y

-

Support PR campaign with in-house PR staff for trade press opportunities

Y

Y

Y

Y

-

Photocall with Bertie Portal and your staff to present cheque

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Provision of press materials incl. images, quotes and biographies for your use (eg: staff publications, local/national press)

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Personalised thank you note on Bertie’s challenge Facebook and Twitter feed (tweets from his last challenge were retweeted by celebrities and reached over 1m followers). Plus acknowledgement on Bertie’s challenge website

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Invitation to the exclusive launch party in London in October 2013

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Association with an established and well reputed actor

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Philanthropic association with a leading children’s charity

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

What would your support mean to Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity? £2,180 supports a family for a whole year.

School Partnerships Imagine having a speaker visit your school and inspiring your pupils with tales of an epic journey, rowing across the Atlantic. Now imagine the tales of how he is preparing to race through the Sahara. As an actor Bertie Portal is an amazing public speaker and having faced numerous challenges on his row, he has some hair-raising tales that will entertain and inspire.

Benefits to your school could include:

£5,000 gives 27 healthy brothers and sisters of a sick child a day out. £8,000 means parents can call Rainbow Trust’s helpline, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. £38,000 funds all the costs of a Family Support Worker for a year.

•

•

•

• •

•

Opportunity to have Bertie Portal attend your school to do a talk or to launch a school race/ event, including a photocall PR time with Bertie for in-house magazines or school brochures, including an opportunity for a student to interview Bertie Tailored PR output for your school (print and broadcast in local/regional press), and provision of press materials (images, quotes) Invitation to the exclusive launch party event in October 2013 in central London Where possible, citations in wider PR activity, including press interviews and live Q&A’s conducted by Bertie to promote the challenge Personalised thank you note on Bertie’s challenge Facebook and Twitter feed (tweets from his last challenge were retweeted by celebrities and reached over 1m followers).

Plus acknowledgement on Bertie’s challenge website.

In return we would ask you to raise a minimum of £5,000 for his challenge.

You could do this through organising your own sponsored walk, raising money at an existing Christmas or Spring Fair, raising money at a parents quiz night or dinner, or any other fundraising activity which suits your school.

TACKLING THE TOUGHEST FOOTRACE ON EARTH

Contact

To discuss your support, please contact Judith Osorio: 01372 220042, judith.osorio@rainbowtrust.org.uk Nicola O’Donnell: 01372 220089, nicola.odonnell@rainbowtrust.org.uk Ben Lyttelton (press enquiries): 0207 2994241, ben.lyttelton@multitudemedia.co.uk

Donations

To make an individual donation, please visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Blazing-a-Trail Or send cheques payable to Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity to 6 Cleeve Court, Cleeve Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7UD

Committee

Melly Dundas, Josie Law, Hilly Lewis, Ben Lyttelton, Emma Newton, Sam Scott Thomas, Alta Thorne, Michael Wainwright, Will Wood, Celia Woollett Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity: enquiries@rainbowtrust.org.uk, rainbowtrust.org.uk Registered Charity No.1070532. Company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No.3585123.