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Help people with Multiple Sclerosis get outdoors
Help create a fund for people with Multiple Sclerosis, to give them the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.
Manawatu / Whanganui
Mastering Mountains is dedicated to helping others get into the outdoors. Nature has an incredible therapeutic quality, feeding the soul. Multiple Sclerosis can hinder people from experiencing and enjoying that rich nourishment. Mastering Mountains hopes to overcome this problem.
To accomplish this goal, I intend to climb a significant mountain every year. I have two goals for these trips.
The first goal for my trip is to raise money for the creation of a fund that will enable others with MS to get into the outdoors. Realising that many others with MS are physically unable to regain the ability to walk or climb as I have, I would like to create a fund that could sponsor people, covering the costs needed to get them into nature and the outdoors. For example, a person might want a helicopter ride to the top of Fox Glacier, or a guide to support them as they walk a track, or they may just want to hire a quad-bike so that they can drive down the beach. My mission is to facilitate this through grants given out of this fund.
My second goal is to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis and the importance of correct nutrition and exercise. Diet and exercise remain absolutely key to my continued health and will be critical to my completing each climb or trek. I hope to communicate the highs and lows of climbing with MS through my blog (www.masteringmountains.org/blog/), as I endeavor to push my own boundaries, so that others with MS might also be able to enjoy the benefits of healthy living and outdoor pursuits.
At the conclusion of this fundraiser, I will establish a charitable trust (tentatively called Mastering Mountains Charitable Trust) that will manage the funds raised. At that point, I will give all the money raised in this campaign to the trust's fund. With each successive trip, it is my goal to grow the fund through fundraising to the point where it can give sizable grants. The money will be put into term deposits and at the end of each cycle, a portion of the interest earned will be made available as a grant for which members of the Multiple Sclerosis Society or any local MS group can apply. The grant will be advertised through the MS Society's newsletters and magazines. Applications for the grant will be considered by the trustees. To begin with, each grant will be a minimum of $200 and awarded annually.
I am currently working on this project with the full support of Multiple Sclerosis Central Districts.
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” — John Muir
Mastering Mountains' involvement (page creator)
I am involved in this project both at the conceptual level and and the coal face of climbing with MS. This project is very much my dream and passion -- a passion that will continue to motivate me as I climb mountains.
I have always been passionate about climbing and tramping. Ever since I was young, I dreamed of climbing famous peaks and, in my teenage years, began pursuing that dream.
However, these dreams were severely challenged shortly after I turned 21. I got sick and I became increasingly incapacitated: I became entirely dependent on a mobility scooter. I found this progression incredibly hard, particularly as it isolated me from the outdoors. Eventually, I began to think that I would never again be able to access the mountains. I was devastated. Four years later, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
One day, I realised that I did not want to live this way for the rest of my life, and that I needed to do something if I wanted to change. I got in touch with a physical therapist and a specialist personal trainer and began working out three days a week, focusing on strength, balance, and flexibility. I also took a radical approach to my diet, cutting out anything that could negatively impact my health.
Now, after four years of consistent rehab/gym work and dietary help, I am fortunate enough to reach the point of being able to tramp and climb again. Aware that other people with MS are not as fortunate, I now have a new goal: to help others get into the outdoors. To accomplish this, I intended to climb a significant mountain every year.
About us
Mastering Mountains Charitable Trust exists to enrich the lives of people affected by Multiple Sclerosis by helping them get outdoors. Getting outdoors has an incredible therapeutic quality. Multiple Sclerosis can hinder people from the fullest experience of this and Mastering Mountains hopes to overcome this problem.
As an expression of this purpose, we have four goals:
- Support others through the Mastering Mountains Scholarship Fund
- Change the perceptions of MS and bring hope
- Highlight the importance of correct nutrition and exercise
- Provide supportive community
Mastering Mountains is a registered charitable trust.
For more info, please visit www.masteringmountains.org
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