Want to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for a Good Cause?

I did last year. Now it’s your turn!

Registration for Survivor Summit, a LIVESTRONG-partnered event I participated in as part of the inaugural 2012 team, opens today for its February 8-21, 2014 expedition…

This is an opportunity to fundraise $10,000 for cancer programs and services, and challenge yourself as you climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain and one of the “seven summits.” This time around, you’ll head up the Rongai route to the roof of Africa. And as a reward, you’ll go on a safari after the climb to the Ngorongoro Crater.

No previous climbing experience is required; just a good attitude and a strong desire to kick cancer to the curb.

For more information, CLICK HERE.

You know this will be the experience of a lifetime. So go ahead, apply! Good luck!

This Post Goes out to Some Awesome Sponsors and Donors

I picked up a cardboard mailing tube yesterday to pack my trekking poles in, which will go inside my gigantic Gregory duffel. The bright red North Face base camp duffel I purchased (with a very generous and kind discount!) from Whole Earth Provision Company is all packed up, too. I also received my light blue Sierra Designs fleece in the mail yesterday—which after a reasonably long day at work was a really nice surprise gift from the Survivor Summit organization!

Basically, this little post is a thank you to all the businesses that have sponsored/helped my teammates and I as we climb Kilimanjaro to benefit cancer programs and services at LIVESTRONG. But most importantly, I can’t ever forget to thank everyone who has DONATED to our cause. No matter how big or small your charitable contributions have been over these past 5 months, you’ve truly helped make a difference for people who are fighting cancer. Having loved and lost many people to cancer, my teammates and I couldn’t be more grateful for support from friends new and old, and family, too.

Even more last-minute preparations await: I’ll be picking up my malaria and altitude medication from the pharmacy today. Since I head to Tanzania on June 23, I’ll need to start the malaria prophylaxis late next week.

It’s getting so close now. I can’t wait to help hold that Honor Flag high at the top!

Why I Climb

Thanks to all my supporters who helped make my climb up Kilimanjaro to fight cancer a reality. Right now, my online fundraising total reads, “$9.934.41,” and there’s a $100 check in the mail that’s going to be a part of that total soon. I can’t wait for the online total to update and reflect this amazing milestone. We made it; I can’t believe it! THANK YOU again to everyone!

With over 100 different donations, this has truly been a grassroots effort. Donations to this cause will support cancer programs and services at LIVESTRONG. At the same time, this constant outpouring of generosity has also helped me meet the $10,000 fundraising requirement to participate in the climb.

I remember from my Texas 4000 ride how often I thought of my supporters. I’d think about their words of encouragement and stories about loved ones who had fought cancer, and all those memories helped make riding through terrible heat, crosswinds, and cold worth it. I’ll be sure to think of all my supporters and their stories when I begin the 38 mile trek to head 19,341 high in altitude. I still can’t believe that it’s so soon; I leave June 23 on a plane bound for Tanzania, and the official summit day is July 2. I hope I make it to the top, so I can honor everyone.

Thanks for helping to make the lives of cancer fighters and survivors a little easier through access to LIVESTRONG’s premiere programs and services. Today, I climb for everyone who has supported this charitable endeavor.

And just so you know: because you all will be in my mind, you’ll be making the trek up the mountain with me, too. I can’t wait to have all of you with me at the top :)

$9,724.41 (+ $100) = So Close!

$9,724.41 raised, with an extra $100 check in the mail = I AM SO CLOSE to REACHING the $10,000 minimum fundraising requirement to climb Kilimanjaro to fight cancer! All my gear is ready to go and I’ve bought my plane tickets. Now it’s time to knock this fundraising goal out once and for all and help survivors and fighters as much as I can. Please donate to the climb, which supports cancer programs and services at LIVESTRONG!

(Source: nevergrow-up)

$28 for 28 (Million), for My 28th Birthday

My 28th birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and you’d better believe that it would make me so happy to complete my $10,000 fundraising goal for cancer programs and services at LIVESTRONG. The only gifts I’m thinking about to mark this special day are donations to support this cause.

In honor of my upcoming birthday, please consider donating $28 for the 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. Your gift helps me get closer to the minimum amount required to do my charity climb. And more importantly: your donation also helps fighters and survivors take serious action against cancer.

I can’t wait to climb Kilimanjaro to honor new and old friends, family, and loved ones who have faced this disease with courage, strength, and hope. Help me meet the minimum fundraising requirement with plenty of time to spare before I leave for Africa!

Thanks!