Jane Maguire has thrown herself out of aeroplanes, abseiled off Celtic Park's main stand and gone on zip slides - all in the name of charity.

Now Maguire is embarking on her biggest challenge to date in aid of raising much-needed funds for the Celtic Foundation. The monies raised will support a host of vulnerable children, young people and adults through the Foundation's projects.

Maguire is head of the Foundation's fundraising arm alongside her friend, Celtic's head of sales Laura Williams. Along with 12 others they will undertake the first-ever Arctic Trek in Rovaniemi, Finland.

The trip was originally scheduled to take place in January 2021 but the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic unfortunately led to two postponements.

The group - which includes Celtic legend and club ambassador Tom Boyd plus two Foundation trustees and one member of staff - will spend a day acclimatising in Rovaniemi.

On Friday January 20, led by an experienced trekking team, they will begin their gruelling three-day adventure into the Arctic Circle.

Day one will see the group follow a frozen river before descending down towards a frozen lake, walking approximately 28km. They will then set up camp for the night, with tents and sleeping bags for protection against the elements.

Day two will see the trekkers embark on a 22km stretch of glorious white wilderness as they trail through forests before another night’s rest under the stars awaits them.

Day three will see the final push of 15km in order to complete the challenge of a lifetime.

Maguire readily admits that sleeping in the tents and the biting cold are her worst fears.

She told The Celtic Way: "One of our trustees, Martin Brown, did one of these treks a number of years ago for a different charity so he suggested to me that it would be a good idea because it would appeal to our fans and would also be a good fundraiser for the Foundation. That's how it came about.

"It was originally meant to happen in January 2021 and it was postponed because of Covid. It was then moved to January 2022 but it was postponed again so it has been a long time coming.

"I am going to do my best to get through it. My biggest fear is probably sleeping in a tent in the snow. I am a wee bit claustrophobic so that might be an issue, as well as the cold. The two of those together are not ideal. I like my home comforts, who doesn't?

"I've been checking the temperatures and we've been told to expect it to be around -8 or -10 degrees. We have been told not to look at the forecast proper as we do not know what will await us but it is normally something like -20 degrees so I need a couple of thermal Celtic tops for this trip!

"There was an extensive kit list about what to take with you on a trek like this and I am too scared to count up what I actually spent as it would be off the scale. I am not exactly the outdoors type so I have had to hire it or buy it.

"The sleeping bags have been hired from the company we are going with so that they are the right kind and there are also all sorts of recommendations about the right types of boots, trousers, jackets and thermals... the lot.

"I think a lot of it will be about mental strength as opposed to physical strength but there are 16 of us doing the trek including the Celtic legend that is Tom Boyd so we have each other for company. We are all in together.

Celtic Way:

"I have never done anything like this before but I have done lots of other things. I am one of those people who says that I can't ask other people to do something for the Foundation if I am not prepared to do it myself.

"I have jumped out of a plane for the Foundation before and I was absolutely petrified. I have abseiled and gone on zip slides too. Whatever we do, I try my best to give it a go.

"The jumping out of the plane experience was terrifying. There were 19 of us on that adventure. Everybody else said they would love to do it again but not me, once was enough.

"But I don't mind putting myself through these things as the Celtic Foundation is raising money for such worthy causes."

Maguire has been raising funds for the Foundation for 16 years now - and she admits that the generosity of the Hoops fans never ceases to amaze her.

The latest Christmas Appeal saw the Foundation raise a staggering £385,000 - the most amount ever for any appeal.

"It was the Celtic Charity Fund when I started," Maguire said. "It has developed massively since then. I head up the fundraising side of the Foundation now. I am really proud of what we do and love what I do. It is really challenging but it is also deeply rewarding.

"The joy in all of this is meeting fellow Celtic supporters. We are just the vessel as it is the Celtic supporters who raise the money, we just try to spend it wisely in their name. It is never about us, it is about the fans.

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"The fans just always dig deep. We had our Christmas Appeal recently and we were all wary of the fact that there is a cost of living crisis at the moment and with the pandemic and people who support us have been badly affected yet we raised an astonishing sum of money - £385,000, the most we have ever raised for an appeal.

"That is incredible. It is in the Celtic fans' DNA to support charitable causes. We are all rightfully proud of this football club because we have a totally unique history and we always try to protect and respect that.

"The Foundation taps into the social, ethical and moral ethos of the club. Every Celtic fan knows their history, don't they?"

This time around the group going to the Arctic were each charged with raising £1,800 per person. So far they have raised a magnificent sum of £57,000 with Jane and Laura responsible for contributing almost £11,000 of that total with the fundraising still ongoing.

"The Celtic supporters - and people in general - have been so generous again and the money raised so far has been absolutely tremendous," Maguire added. "We are very grateful to everybody who has donated so far."

Although 65km of frozen landscapes and sub-zero temperatures await here, there is one thing that Maguire is looking forward to no end.

"We will all be gathering round the campfire soon," she said. "And there is bound to be a Celtic sing-song... Tom Boyd loves a sing-song."

It's fair to say then that the familiar strains of Hail, Hail, the Celts Are Here will surely be heard ringing around the Arctic Circle in the days to come.

If you’d like to support Celtic Foundation Arctic adventure, you can make a donation here.