Charity Walk

As you probably know, many people take long hikes to raise money for various charities. Right now, there is an AT journal by Dan Quinn, whose brother was shot in a senseless act of violence. He's collecting money under the title, "Miles for Kyle" as a fund-raiser for reducing street violence.

Anyway, Paul had this idea that we might as well be walking for a cause greater than our own personal enrichment. Here's how our PC Pledge (Personal Charity Pledge) works: 1) choose a charity for a cause you strongly support and decide on a pledge amount, 2) label a jar, a checking account, an envelope or some other $$$ repository 3) tell someone about it to formalize your commitment- email us if you want 4) add money to your stash as we hike along, 5) send it in when we finish our hike (tentatively August 3) or if we get off the trail for some reason.

The trail is 2,170 miles, soooooo if you pledge $1/mile that's lots of money, but 10 cents a mile is $217 which is generous but not outrageous. For a more modest amount, you could donate 1 cent/mile or a set amount. Another alternative is to donate for the highest mountain we climb, or for each journal entry.

We personally donate to FDA (Fairbanks Drama Association), Rett Syndrome Foundation, breast cancer research, Hospice, Special Olympics and to various schools for individual student school supplies or Christmas gifts. We haven't decided the recipient of our own personal pledge yet, but it would be great to list yours with ours alongside this blog.

Not only would this encourage us to complete our hike, but in a manner of speaking, you'll be hiking with us.

Remember, tomorrow is MLK Day of Service as well as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.