9 days to go till Deadline One...Gulp!

What a few weeks! The interest in my Expedition bid since my last update has been phenomenal! I have been working around the clock as I get closer to my first fundraising deadline of October 15th. As the logistics involved in getting a group of future environmental and climate leaders from all over the globe (including yours truly!)  down to Antarctica is so complicated, the deadline was set this early to ensure maximum numbers of us could secure our place on the Sea Spirit Ship. It is daunting that the first deadline is so close, but it will be amazing to have my spot secured and work on fundraising for the rest of the project.

The French Connection!

I am very proud and humbled to announce that the French Embassy to Ireland have become an official supporter of my Antarctic Youth Ambassador Programme. Their enthusiasm and confidence in this great project has been amazing. I was rather daunted being interviewed en francais in the Cultural and Scientific Department of the Ambassade, but Mr. Hadrien Laroche, Mr. Claude Detrez and all the team at the Embassy have been amazing. They have wonderful ideas about how to bring this project forward and gain as much publicity as possible for the protection of Antarctica and my role in that.

I must also thank Mr. Philippe Milloux and Mr. Vincent Lavergne from the Alliance Francaise. They included a piece about my bid in the Alliance Francaise newsletter and have offered to hold a Cafe Scientifique Event at the Alliance Francaise on November 22nd.  I am currently searching for panel speakers in regards to Climate Change and Protection of our Polar regions. I am looking forward to inviting all the team at Kimmage Development Studies Centre to this event.

http://www.alliance-francaise.ie/Newsletter/

In Other News!

In other fabulous news, I have been awarded a bursary from a major Irish Charitable Foundation this week. Details of this will follow in the coming weeks, but I am incredibly excited about the prospect of working with such an admirable organisation.

I am also going to be taking part in a voxpop session at the Ernest Shackleton School in Athy Co. Kildare in the last weekend of October! Many thanks to Margaret Walsh at Athy Heritage Museum for this opportunity.

Extra! Extra!

The wonderful Alan Foley has been burning the midnight oil for me and has completed my press release for this project! Alan has been a great friend for many years and I would like to thank him for taking them time out of his hectic schedule to help me out. Legend. I have a photo shoot lined up this weekend with Karl Martini, a very talented photographer from Dublin. When we spoke on the phone, I had to laugh when he said "So wait a minute, the themes you want me to combine are Rollerskating-The Antarctic-Phoenix Park. Pause. Okay... I can make this work..." I have every faith that he can!

On that note, the Skate the Drake! fundraising is going very well, I clocked up 17.2km last Sunday, and looking outside at the sunshine- I really should be out there now, so I am going to sign off for now. Please keep supporting my bid and sharing my plight- I have a beautiful little feeling inside that this is going to happen!!!

I have so so many people to thank, I will post again on Sunday night to share the other great things that are going on and in the meantime THANK YOU ALL!

Skate, skate, skate!

http://www.gofundme.com/17a1ww&preview=1

http://www.facebook.com/eimear.carlin?ref=tn_tnmn

http://www.kimmagedsc.ie/