There’s plenty of runs and walks for charity this summer, but there aren’t too many with a view as good as this one at the finish line.
Whistler Water’s Third Annual One Climb event at Grouse Mountain takes place on Sunday June 7. Participants from all over Vancouver will come together at Grouse Mountain and conquer the Grouse Grind. And if you’re still on your feet at the end, you can take in the beautiful view a-top Grouse Mountain with the events festivities.
But One Climb is about a lot more than just walking (crawling for some) up Grouse Mountain.
The event’s mission is to provide clean drinking water to thousands of people in the Kipsongol community, located in the Masai Mara region of Kenya. Through the beneficiary of the event, Free The Children, just $25 can provide clean drinking water for 1 person for their entire lives.
Inspired after his trip to Kenya, Whistler Water CEO Stuart McLaughlin witnessed the great lengths community members, especially women and children, had to endure to find clean drinking water. That’s when McLaughlin came up with the idea for One Climb. We all know the Grind can be quite the challenge, according to McLaughlin it doesn’t come close to simulating the experience that Kenyan’s – and others around the world – have to go through on a daily basis to find water for their families. This is Whistler Water’s contribution to raise awareness of the issue of clean water and give back what they can.
Facing a similar challenge after a trip to east Africa, 2015 One Climb Ambassador (and Notable Award Winner) Taylor Conroy, didn’t know what to do. “I came back from witnessing things I had never seen before and I wanted to do something to help. I didn’t have a ton of money nor did I have a ton of time or resources. All I knew is that I wanted to do something with my friends and family that would make a big difference.”
So Taylor founded the organization Change Heroes. Which has a pretty simple idea behind it: get your friends and family to give small donation amounts over a short, defined period of time by asking them with short videos you make on your webcam.
This year’s event is following the model by asking participants to contribute just $2.22 per day for 3 months – cheaper then the latte or green juice you’d get every day.
The solution makes it so fast and easy for people to fundraise, it may just turn out to be easier than doing the Grind.
The fundraising efforts have already begun. Register to take part and start fundraising today. And we’ll see you in six days for the Grind.
