A short holiday to the US, but the walking continues…
Training for the Mt Kilimanjaro Climb took a backseat over the last few weeks as we embarked on a three week family holiday. No room to pack the hiking boots on this trip which took in the urban sights of New York, monuments of Washington, craziness of Vegas and scenery of Hawaii. I have taken some solace in the knowledge the climb is over 6 months away but time has a habit of sneaking up on you.
Even though there was no “official” training we attempted to maintain a reasonable level of activity and many days saw us walking over 10km per day. A highlight of the trip which also put the size of Mt Kilimanjaro into perspective, was flying over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter. The size of that place is vast and it is definitely “Grand”. The depth of the Canyon is equivalent to a third of the height of Mt Kilimanjaro and seeing those dimensions in real life certainly put the challenge of the climb in perspective and made me just a tad nervous…
Whilst we took a break the fundraising continued and we received a number of generous donations leading up to the end of financial year (nothing like a tax deduction for motivation) and pleasingly they have continued. This naturally encouraged me to increase our fundraising target which I’m sure we’ll reach. Nothing like having a stretch target to focus your attention.
Many friends and colleagues from within the financial planning community have been supporting us and making donations which is fabulous. In particular we also received corporate sponsorship from Securitor which we are thrilled about.
This week I’ll be attending the Securitor Convention in Canberra and I’ve convinced myself that the freezing conditions of the ACT will help condition me to the freezing conditions at the top of the Mountain! Some might say that’s a stretch but if it helps me cope with the conditions then that’s fine by me.
The much anticipated fundraiser cocktail party is less than 2 weeks away and we’re hoping that will be a great opportunity to raise awareness of Future2 amongst those not so closely associated with financial planning and to also raise additional support via raffles and the like. A movie night will be set for later this year so it’s all systems go.
Many people have expressed an interest in joining us , Julie and Sam on the climb and there is still time to enrol in the adventure of a lifetime. It’s great to see two more people have committed to the Challenge in the last week or so and I’m sure those numbers will increase. If you are interested please contact either Future2 Foundation directly or send me an email at agraham@mcphail.com.au.
Anne Graham (with David Graham)
———-
Read more about Anne’s preparations here:
23 June: Future 2 Foundation, Mt Kilimanjaro Climb 2016 – 1,000 Steps Kokoda Walk
11 June: Future 2 Foundation, Mt Kilimanjaro Climb 2016 – Boots and birthday
27 May: Future 2 Foundation, Mt Kilimanjaro Climb 2016 – Oh, what the hell have I done?
12 May: Future 2 Foundation, Mt Kilimanjaro Climb 2016 – Want to climb a mountain? Of course I do…