Climb For A Cause – Part 1

Kilimanjaro attracts hundreds of climbing groups per year, trying to raise money for some cause. It’s the mountain where do gooders from all around the world raise money for aids awareness, cancer, all sorts of random charities, orphanages, multiple schlerosis, education – and pretty much anything else you could imagine.

In just the last few weeks, I have counted over ten official announcements of different groups of people trying to raise money for their climb. While I know raising money for special interests is a good thing and Kilimanjaro serves as a good goal, inspiration for the group, I have to say that climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is very expensive and the cost of a plane ticket to East Africa is expensive too.

If you had 10 people in your climb for a cause group, and each had spent $2500 to $3000 on a plane ticket and a climb up Kilimanjaro, you would have an extra $25,000 to $30,000 to give you cause or charity. I know some people disagree with this logic, but it’s an important point to note. I have seen other big groups climb the mountain, raise some money, and probably spend more money on the climb, then on the amount of money they actually raised – and then they get financed a free trip up the mountain, at the expense of someone else’s ailment, economic status or problem.

Don’t get me wrong – these climbers for the cause are good things, that is, if and only if, they actually raise enough money for the group in need.

Here are the latest new releases and their group goals for their climb up Kilimanjaro.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/community/12709120.htm

Help fight Multiple Sclerosis

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26561

Videogame industries children’s education charity (Huh, the video game industry?)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200509290013.html

Conqueor stigma for HIV/AIDs

http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/2005/09sep/050929gee.shtml

Renal Research at Glasgow’s Western Infirmary.

http://www.antonnews.com/farmingdaleobserver/2005/09/30/news/

Cancer

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/press_release.php?aid=11905

Fundraising

http://www.ferrago.com/story/6640

Kids education

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/10/prweb291911.htm

Orphans in Uganda