13 years ago, I found out I was pregnant with my first child after being told that conceiving would be difficult for me and my pregnancies would be challenging to "plan." This unexpected news came just two weeks before I left for Africa to trek the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro. At this point, I was already three months along, but never having been a mother and training for the last year, I decided to move forward with pursuing my dream.

With the extra oxygen flowing through my body, my growing child unexpectedly (at that stage of development) helped me summit and reach my goal. Now, 12 years later, my son Jackson is training to trek the mountain on his own two feet. He has been training over the course of the year and understands that he is of an extremely small percentage of children to attempt this trek.

Jackson is seeking donations to assist in the cost of his trip. His goal is to raise 5k by August 11th, 2025, to help cover the costs of the trek. Jackson has gone ditch by ditch cleaning up our community in an attempt to raise money by returning cans and bottles while simultaneously cleaning up our streets. He has reached out to community members and businesses for donations, cans and bottles, or sponsorships. At this point, Jackson has raised just over 2k on his own. We are asking for your help raising the last 3k to make a child's dream come true. We have reached out to larger businesses and corporations like LL BEAN and our large restaurant/business establishments, but unfortunately, they are not willing or not contractually able to sponsor or donate to an individual and can or will only make donations or sponsor teams or groups.

This will be the hardest thing Jackson has ever done in his life, but this middle schooler's life is about to change through this trip, and he is ready! As a mother, I am doing my best to raise a good citizen and a global leader for his generation. I am doing my best to teach this very shy kid skills about public speaking, different cultures, grit, determination, and global issues (like the rapidly melting glaciers on Kilimanjaro and what impact that will have on the community members below that rely on that water source). I am also trying to teach Jackson that if you really have a dream, there's always a way to accomplish it. This is not an experience we can provide our child monetarily, but with your help, we can help change this child's life and elevate his perspective on the world. We have until August 11th to finish raising the funds for his trek. Thank you for your consideration to make this child's dream come true!