Staff at housebuilder Vistry’s Basingstoke office raise thousands for Armed Forces charity with Vietnam trek

Vistry Group, Britain’s biggest housebuilder, has chosen SSAFA as its charity for the year and publicised the fundraising trek among its employees. Eight staff members including a group of four from its Vistry Southern team based in Basingstoke took up the challenge, along with another four employees from other parts of the company.

The Vistry Southern team, who have so far raised around £16,000, comprised senior technical manager Steve Collis, 60, technical co-ordinator Will Mullins, 24, associate land director Zoe Dennis, 35, and head of technical Dave Postle, who trained for six months for the challenge. While most of their training was done separately, they would sometimes meet for a two or three-mile walk at lunchtime to talk about the trip and how their training was going.

The other Vistry team members were Joe Mullins, from Vistry Bristol, Ben Graham, from Vistry North Central Midlands, and Nicky Murphy, and Sarah Franklin, who are both from Vistry Cornwall South West.

The Vistry contingent were part of a wider group of 31 fundraisers who took part in the event at the end of October. They were accompanied by three guides and a doctor, as well as representatives from the travel company and the charity.

Steve explained that some of their fellow trekkers who they met while taking part in the challenge were former services personnel themselves who had been supported by SSAFA and wanted to give something back. He said: “It brought it home to me what a great charity it is. The support they give to service people and their families is so important and that’s why it’s such a worthwhile cause.”

Their six-day route covered 110km through rural landscapes taking in paddy fields, waterfalls and mountains, with daily treks ranging from three to nine hours.

Steve said: “It was a privilege to do it and a very special experience. I’ve done a lot of nice things in my life, but this was in the top three. It was an experience of a lifetime.”

During the trek, the group were able to see a side of the country that regular tourists might not experience. “It was an eye opener,” said Steve. “The rural life of Vietnam was amazing to see. They live a simple life; they live off the land and the people are so lovely. They haven’t got a lot, but they would give everything. And everywhere you turn there is something amazing to see. The scenery is stunning, and the air is clean.”

There were challenges on the way for Steve ranging from blisters to sunstroke, but he powered through and one of the best aspects of the trip was the way his fellow trekkers supported and helped each other. He said: “Everybody wanted you to succeed, and it was an amazing feeling.”

Vistry has raised more than £659,000 in total for SSAFA as part of its company-wide support for the charity.

To donate to Vistry Southern’s fundraising effort for SSAFA, visit the Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/vistry-southern-1705577355863.

To find out more about Vistry Group, visit vistrygroup.co.uk.