Hello! I am so glad you have found this page:)

My name is Luke Jackson, and I am creating this fundraiser in honor of my father who passed away in August. To celebrate life and what it means to be alive in this current moment, on the occasion of my 28th birthday I will be walking the entirety of the TAM trail, a walking trail that encircles the town of Middlebury, VT. This is a ~19 mile loop that cuts through fields, forest, hills, and along the Otter Creek River. A trail that dad loved to explore and walk on.

In honor of and in memory of dad, I am hoping through this walk to raise money for two organizations. Accordingly, half the money earned will be given to each organization.

The first: The National Food Bank of VT (https://www.vtfoodbank.org/)

At a time when so many are struggling with food insecurity and lack of access to good quality food, it is critical that we all take part in caring for the community we are an integral part of. Food is life, and good food is essential to quality of life.

The second: (https://cmbm.org/)

The Center for Mind Body Medicine is dedicated to helping those who have experienced trauma and teaching them the tools to heal from that trauma and ultimately to build resilience. As a faculty member of this organization, dad was deeply imbedded in this work, and made it his life’s mission to help guide all of those who he could through the CMBM group model.

Through your support I hope to be able to support the work of both of these organizations, as they work to uplift those in their respective communities.

If you are unable to give at this time, but want to be involved in other ways, I do encourage you to explore these websites in more depth. There is a treasure trove of information in both to help deepen one’s knowledge base.

If you are able to give, but are unsure how much to give, here are some numbers that feel significant in some way:

$1 The number of trails around Middlebury

$5 The day of my birthday

$11 Dad’s favorite number

$19 The number of total miles of the trail

$28 How old I will be on my birthday

If you are interested in walking with me, for part or all of the trail, please send a message through this page, and I will be in touch with the logistical information of the walk itself. (Simply scroll down to "Organizer" and click "Contact". Your message will be sent directly to my email.) The more the merrier! And walking is not contingent on giving a donation, of course!

Thank you so much for reading this far, and at least considering offering some financial support to these causes. I look forward to seeing what we are able to do together :)

Much love and appreciation,

Luke