Doing what I love and giving back

[Caption Dan]

Hi, friends. I'm a 21 year old college student at uab and also working on my commercial pilot license. Being a broke college student with hardly anytime in between the books and school I wanted to find a way to combine something I love with giving back to others. I'm planning this summer to hike 1,000 miles of the AT for a non- profit charity(specific charity has not been decided). The foundation in homewood al seems to find my idea very interesting. But has not yet committed to sponsoring the cause, I will pay every expense out of my pocket for the actual cost of the hike and receive no benefit other than giving back to the charity which is choosen. I am in the process of establishing an organization at UAB to help out as a fund raiser for the designated charity. Then I would like to gather with local and nationally know businesses to make donations to the organization. I also plan on promoting the leave no trace behind through out my trip, I feel the application trail should be very well recognized in this process for the allowance and commitment there team makes for the ones interested in the outdoor world. Please post ideas and comments, I'm very open to ideas and would love to hear them. Thanks for your time and keep the trails clean!

[Maren]

"Application trail"? Love it.

[Caption Dan]

Haha Appalachian. Got in hurry, any comments for the idea?

[marty1983]

Have you read A Walk For Sunshine? It was written by Jeff Alt and I think you will find it helpful. Good luck!

Marty

[Bronk]

Hiking and charity have nothing to do with each other. Hiking 1000 miles is generally a very selfish endeavor, so don't kid yourself by pretending you are doing it for charity. What does you hiking 1000 miles have to do with SOMEONE ELSE donating money to charity? Just about nothing...why don't you get a summer job and work to earn some money that YOU can donate to charity?

If you really want to help a charitable organization then get a summer job and donate the money to the charity or volunteer your time, but don't pretend you are hiking for charity...you are hiking because that's the way you want to spend your summer vacation. And there's nothing wrong with that...just don't pretend that you are doing it for some altruistic purpose.

I rank this right up there with people who say "I prayed about it and I really believe that God wants me to do [X]." And [X] always just happens to be what that person wanted to do anyway...has nothing to do with God.

[dshideler]

Pretty bold statement for you to claim you know what Gods thoughts are. Walking also has nothing to do with charity right? ( think walk for life ) by hiking the trail the op is drawing attention to themselves from friends family fellow students etc. thereby drawing attention to their charity. Their going to hike the trail anyway and I think it's good that they want to see it benefit someone other than just them self. Hope you get lots of support. HYOH

[Rasty]

He clearly stated he is paying all of his own expenses for the hike. Anything raised for charity is a good thing.

Hiking and charity have nothing to do with each other. Hiking 1000 miles is generally a very selfish endeavor, so don't kid yourself by pretending you are doing it for charity. What does you hiking 1000 miles have to do with SOMEONE ELSE donating money to charity? Just about nothing...why don't you get a summer job and work to earn some money that YOU can donate to charity?

If you really want to help a charitable organization then get a summer job and donate the money to the charity or volunteer your time, but don't pretend you are hiking for charity...you are hiking because that's the way you want to spend your summer vacation. And there's nothing wrong with that...just don't pretend that you are doing it for some altruistic purpose.

I rank this right up there with people who say "I prayed about it and I really believe that God wants me to do [X]." And [X] always just happens to be what that person wanted to do anyway...has nothing to do with God.

[swamprat]

Hiking and charity have nothing to do with each other. Hiking 1000 miles is generally a very selfish endeavor, so don't kid yourself by pretending you are doing it for charity. What does you hiking 1000 miles have to do with SOMEONE ELSE donating money to charity? Just about nothing...why don't you get a summer job and work to earn some money that YOU can donate to charity?If you really want to help a charitable organization then get a summer job and donate the money to the charity or volunteer your time, but don't pretend you are hiking for charity...you are hiking because that's the way you want to spend your summer vacation. And there's nothing wrong with that...just don't pretend that you are doing it for some altruistic purpose.I rank this right up there with people who say "I prayed about it and I really believe that God wants me to do [X]." And [X] always just happens to be what that person wanted to do anyway...has nothing to do with God.

You must really be just an angry person. I have some news for you. I am hiking a thru this year and also raising money for a charity!! I am hiking for myself because I want to!! People are pledging per mile finished for the charity!! 100%! I worked 31 yrs don't need a summer job! It is a motivational factor for me to stay on the trail. It will pay for a terminally I'll child to see a wish or dream come through!! Have you ever donated to a charity on your taxes, if so did you do it for charity or a tax break? Good luck with the hike and the charity is what I say..

[Mags]

I have never done a hike for charity.

Don't see the issue, though.

As long as all proceeds go to the charity (And they are not using the money to really pay for the hike), don't see the harm in it. [1]

No gets up in arms over someone doing a 10k or walk-a-thon for charity? Why the difference in a hike?

I have my own theories, but curious what other people have to say....



[1] Though I hope the hiker does contribute with some volunteer trail work afterwards to help on the trail that made their hike possible at some point.

[Tinker]

Bronk: Way harsh, dude.

Caption Dan: Read A Walk for Sunshine by Jeff Alt, as mentioned by Marty. Great read with a fair amount of emphasis on the cause - not just a hiking journal.

[Blissful]

Hiking and charity have nothing to do with each other. Hiking 1000 miles is generally a very selfish endeavor, so don't kid yourself by pretending you are doing it for charity. What does you hiking 1000 miles have to do with SOMEONE ELSE donating money to charity? Just about nothing...why don't you get a summer job and work to earn some money that YOU can donate to charity?

The only problem wth this statement that those who also participate in community events to "walk" and "run" for breast cancer research, ms, heart disease and other areas also fall into your category. Walking and running is supposeldy "selfish" too according to your statement.

The idea someone wants to make their endeavor of an AT hike a bit more "unselfish" by raising money is up to them and another means of hyoh.

I know some guys who are planning to raise money this year for wounded war vets. A gal who hiked SOBO a few years raised money for Haiti.

It's up to them, and up to others who want to contribute.

My issue is when people ask you to donate to fund their hike. But this hiker is not doing that. He is self sufficient, and that speaks loads of his intent to be above reproach.

[JAK]

Good luck. I like the idea of hiking while giving to a charity, thereby setting an example rather than being an expense of the charity you are fundraising for. I'm not a big fan of "Leave No Trace" in its current manifestation however. I think it is somewhat misguided and outdated. The focus should be more on sustainability, with leave no trace being a policy in certain habitats but not in others. The direction should be towards re-integrating human society with nature and sustainability, rather than ongoing segregation, which is ultimately destructive. Find a way. Happy trails.

[Caption Dan]

Hey users thanks for the thoughts and comments, the references to the book are leading to me to greater ideas. Jak, I will be looking on improving this idea not only for the forests but for the everyday day life styles for people around the globe. Through detailed research I found charities host and sponsor hiking,walking, and running events not only for their organizations but for ones who are looking to host their own events and donate the profits to the organization. This which is what I will be doing on my section hike of the AT, the American hiking assoc. Will be hosting this coming Monday a walk from the Lincoln memorial to the Capitol in Washington, other organizations promote the same ideas for breast cancer, lung cancer, etc. This is a way for me to find two benefits in one a.) giving back b.) doing something I love. These are people and animals that are not as fortunate as others and I want to help them by the donation of my time,money and educational purposes to help them better themselves and others in the future. Although these goals cannot be reached through just me it will take the time and donations of other to make this dream come a reality. I'm not looking for handouts, I'm looking for a way to try and better my countries society,environment, and future generations. Thanks for the post hope to hear kore keep the trails clean and safe!

[MuddyWaters]

So you are broke, but you have 3000-5000 to hike the trail? You said you were paying for your expenses out of your own pocket.

I know married couples working two jobs that dont have $5000 to spend on anything.

[Raul Perez]

Caption Dan,

This is my second year hiking and trying to raise money for charity. So I can give you some insight:

There are a ton of people in the past who try to pass off a charity hike and really use the funds to hike for themselves. Make sure any charity you do hike for sets up a donation page for you so all funds go directly to the charity.

Try to make it hiker oriented. My first year I didn't get much in the way of donations from actual hikers (I think it was 7). This year I contacted various cottage industry vendors and set up a raffle for gear which donors are automatically entered into if they donate $10 or more. This has increased donations from hikers this year but not as much as I would have expected so far (then again I'm only about a month into it). Also, as with last year, my primary charity has offered to transfer 20% of the donations to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy which was really cool of them.

Hope this helps,

Raul
(Water Monkey)

PS

Bronk,

I really don't understand your logic. Hiking for charity is no different than doing the "Light the Night" walk for cancer, biking 50 miles for MS, or running a marathon for the homeless. You take what you enjoy doing and attach some sort of benefit to others to make it more special because someone else who actually is in need can be assisted by your endeavor.

[MuddyWaters]

there was a walk for breast cancer awareness a few months ago in Dallas I think. The participants walked 60 miles over 3 days (flat roads), and camped out at night. Not exactly difficult. But they took pledges and raised money and had fun.

People dont like to give you money for nothing. But if its a "____-a-thon" they will. Go figure. Its been programmed into us, plain and simple.

[Caption Dan]

Thanks Raul when i find the specific charity I will def ask them about these ideas. I appreciate the help, let me know if I can return the favor. Muddy waters, my state has a 9.8percent unemployment rate so yes I can understand families not having 5,000 dollars to spend on anything. This trip will cost me around 1grand in food. By the way I've been self employeed since I was 16 and have been saving money.

[JAK]

It can be done cheap if you are frugal. It sounds to me like you are very frugal. I like the idea of refined poverty. The Japanese Tea Ceremony and Tea Houses were an example of this, and originated during a period of hardship after civil wars. I myself have the poverty down, or near abouts, but I'm still working on the refinement.

Best regards.

[garlic08]

...People dont like to give you money for nothing. But if its a "____-a-thon" they will. Go figure. Its been programmed into us, plain and simple.

Absolutely right. My AT hiking partner sent out emails to friends and family and managed to raise over $15,000 for cancer and ALS research. It was impressive and I felt privileged to be a part of it--$6 for every mile we walked. He never handled a penny, except for a few small cash donations offered right on the trail. It was a "pledge per mile" deal, which got more people interested in long trail hiking, too. At the end of the hike, the actual donations exceeded the pledges--people tended to round up to the next $10.

Best of luck in your project. Raising money for a cause adds a different feeling to a thru hike and that can help the success of your hike.

[JAK]

I remember walk-a-thons being quite popular in the seventies. Did one in grade three when I lived in Niagara and another in grade 5 here in Saint John. Mostly school kids, in groups or 3 or more, with at least one older kid or adults.

They were both 26 miles, and we almost finished them before dark. A kids we didn't get tired or sore, we were just slow. 24 miles on the first, and 20 miles on the second. Good memories of hiking through the Niagara region from Niagara Falls to Niagara-On-The-Lake and back. Also here right around where I happen to live now, and its changes a bit but not much, so its good to see certain things that remind me of the trek.

Most of my sponsors were like 1, 2, or 5 cents per mile back then, with 2 cents being the most common. The real value wasn't so much in the money raised but in getting so many kids out for a walk at that age. Great experience. No idea what the charity was now. Wasn't for us, or the school, or anything like that. Some medical thing maybe. lol

I think I had about 30 or 40 sponsors in total, at roughly 3 cents a mile average, and 44 miles between the two years. We were high rollers back then, for sure.