Our Challenges Team

By taking on your challenge event with Dig Deep you are transforming the lives of the communities we serve. Our team is committed to providing exceptional, personalised support to all our volunteers - from the moment you sign up right through to celebrating your challenge achievement.

Check out the people who will be there to support you every step of the way throughout your time as a Dig Deep volunteer.

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Jas Swanston

(She/her)

Challenge Event Manager

Jas first got involved with Dig Deep in 2020 when she signed up to be the Team Leader for the Loughborough University Kilimanjaro team. Whilst studying at Loughborough, she took on 5 charity challenges, so has lots of advice for our fundraisers.

After graduating, Jas spent a year working as the Rag Chair at Loughborough Students’ Union. This involved overseeing all charitable activity across the campus, leading to over £500,000 being raised for charity in the 2022/23 academic year.

Simon Franklin

(He/him)

Operations and Finance Manager

Simon joined Dig Deep in 2017 after completing a PhD in Sports, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham.

During his PhD, he fundraised for Dig Deep by taking on our Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya challenges in 2014 and 2015 respectively raising over £5000 in the process.

Simon is responsible for managing the finances of the organisation as well as organising and delivering our challenge events.

He climbed Kilimanjaro for the second time in 2019 where he proposed to his wife at the summit!

Katherine Sedgwick

(She/her)

Corporate Lead

Katherine Sedgwick is passionate about building partnerships. Having held senior commercial roles in the chemical Industry for many years Katherine has recently taken the leap into the charity sector building partnerships which are helping 1 million people get access to clean water.

Annabel Lockie

(She/her)

Fundraising Officer

Annabel climbed Kilimanjaro for Dig Deep in 2022 and has since gone on to be team leader for other charity challenges. She has also previously volunteered in Kenya and Fiji on community development projects gaining considerable fundraising experience.

After graduating with a BASc Global Sustainable Development degree from Warwick University she joined the team as Fundraising Officer in summer 2024.

Annabel provides support to all of our challenge fundraisers and helps to develop our fundraising resources, campaigns and social media content.

Sam Abbs

(He/him)

Challenge Event Representative

Sam first heard about Dig Deep back in 2020 when he signed up with his sister for Kilimanjaro, summiting in 2022. Since graduating, he joined the Dig Deep staff team after experiencing the shared sense of achievement and the rewarding feeling of aiding a fantastic cause.

As part of his role, he travels up and down the country inspiring and recruiting large teams of new fundraisers.

Sam has also worked for marketing brands and as an ambassador and volunteer in the third sector.

Take on a Dig Deep Challenge this year to support us

Explore Challenges