Climbing “Kili” is on a lot of people’s bucket lists. And about 35,000 tourists attempt to make the trek every year. Only about half reach the summit, including two of JBFC’s own (Melinda Wulf, our current Administrative Director has climbed Kili three times! And our former Assistant Director, Kayci Hebard, also made it to the peak).
You may not be able to travel to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro, but you can walk in the shoes of a trekker (in a matter of speaking) and help JBFC at the same time.
Last year, our co-worker, Alyssa Doty, had a light bulb moment. We’d love to say she was reading Hemingway’s "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" or on a hike through Green Country, when she got a flash of inspiration, but she says she was probably surfing the internet. Her idea was simple: If you can’t make it to the mountain, let’s bring the experience of climbing the mountain to you.
And JBFC’s virtual Kili climb, Trek Tanzania, was born.
That’s 45 miles or 89,480 steps in five days.
You can go it alone or recruit friends to help you reach the goal.
And it’s all for a good cause. Trek Tanzania will benefit JBFC’s medical clinic. Our clinic aims to provide access to healthcare for JBFC’s residential girls, students, workers and their families. Typically, we see 20-25 patients a week for everything from scrapes and cuts to malaria and typhoid. Next year, we’re hoping to expand our clinic to provide more diagnostic testing and treatment for common ailments like malaria and parasitic infections.
If you don’t want to fundraise, but still would like to attempt the virtual climb, you can still sign up (again, please register) and just pay an entry fee of $20 per person. Everyone gets a Trek Tanzania t-shirt (if you would like your company’s name featured on the back of the shirt email us at info@jbfc-online.org for sponsorship options).
We hope you will join us in Trek Tanzania (JBFC’s US Staff has a team, click here if you want to check us out). You and your friends and family can get fit and help make the world a healthier place.
