The Mountain Movement
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Standing at the top of a mountain, you cannot help but feel so small and yet, at the same time, feel like you could conquer the world. For The Mountain Movement, an obstacle as large as the devastation of AIDS in Africa cultivates the same feelings. To this fundraising campaign, you can give in to your feelings of helplessness or you can make every effort to be part of a movement that is trying to halt the spread of the disease and the negative effects it has already caused.
The Mountain Movement campaign is co-headed by Paul Žižka (27) and Meghan Ward (22), both servers in the hospitality industry in the Rockies. Upon our return to work as servers at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge in Banff National Park for another season, we wanted to find a way of pursuing our passions for the outdoors as well as for helping those who are less privileged. Thus, in November of 2005, The Mountain Movement was created to amalgamate these interests. Entering the summer with no expectations, the co-heads have since been shocked and overwhelmed by the support of fellow Rockies employees, as well as visitors to the Park. The Mountain Movement thus far has raised $13,618 for The Stephen Lewis Foundation since it began its summer campaign in May of 2006.
The AIDS Climbing Weeks, which we held in July and August, brought in over $4000.00 for the SLF. Several supporters sponsored Num-Ti-Jah staff members to climb as many peaks as they could during those weeks. In the end, the staff climbed over 40 peaks in each of the AIDS Climbing Weeks. As avid climbers, we took every opportunity to contribute to the campaign by climbing a combined total of 39 peaks during AIDS Climbing Weeks. As well, the Servers Against AIDS program, in which servers request donations from customers on an ongoing basis, raised over $3500.00 for the SLF. This amount includes $1153.00 in tips that servers at Num-Ti-Jah donated on designated days each month.
Looking back on the success of the summer campaign, we could not help but want to continue. After moving back to Eastern Canada, we began the planning process for the upcoming months. Our main winter event has been appropriately titled The Arokä Project, as its primary focus is on arokä, which is Maori for awareness. The project consists of a 1500 km trek on the South Island of New Zealand. It will be the first foot crossing of the full length of the Island. Because of the scale of the event, we have set up a separate website for it, which you will find at http://www.thearokaproject.blogspot.com/. While Paul will be crossing the Island, Meghan will be helping on an organizational level, managing donations and updating the website while she finishes up her final semester at Queen’s University. All proceeds from the trek will go to The Stephen Lewis Foundation.
Please visit our websites, www.themountainmovement.blogspot.com and www.thearokaproject.blogspot.com for updated information on the campaign.
