The Go Sober campaign lasts for the whole of October and requires participants to take a month-long break from alcohol in order to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Almost £2.5million has been raised so far this year by sober heroes across the country, with over £30,000 coming from Lincolnshire.
University of Lincoln drama student Natasha Bailey decided to take up the challenge for the first time this year, after she had seen it advertised on Facebook.
“It’s coming up to the eighth year since my Granddad passed away from cancer and I wanted to raise money in his memory,” she said.
“I felt like I was still making him proud of me, which is a really nice feeling to have and to hold onto.
“I remember how hard it was seeing him when he was at his worse shortly before he died, so raising money is my way of making sure that other people and families being affected by cancer have the help and the care they deserve.”
She did admit however that the combination of being a university student and not drinking alcohol was quite a challenge.
She said: “To start with it was really easy and I was happy not having alcohol, but throughout the month it did get harder.
“Being the only sober one at university socials was a strange and weird experience.
“I also work in a bar and customers couldn’t understand that I wasn’t drinking for charity – one even asked if I was pregnant, presuming that was the reason I wasn’t drinking.”
Despite it proving to be quite a challenge, Natasha says it definitely had its perks, listing a lack of hangovers and saving money as benefits she personally noticed.
In total, Natasha managed to raise £75 for Macmillan which she says “isn’t much compared to everyone else” but she’s still very proud of her achievements, as completing the Go Sober for October challenge has taught her a lot.
She said: “Being a student my family and other people presuming I’m constantly drinking and can’t live without alcohol, which isn’t true.
“I feel really proud of myself for doing it, and I know my Granddad is proud too.
“I would 100% recommend it to other people. It is hard, but at the end of the day you’re raising money to save lives and help others.”
It also seems that Natasha has now got the bug for charity fundraising, and plans to do more in the future.
“I’m hopefully doing a sponsored Sky Dive next year to raise money for BLISS, which is another charity close to my heart.”