Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. I hope you leave this site with a better understanding of the challenge I will be taking this summer, the organization I am supporting (VSO), as well as a little extra credit built up on your credit card.

What am I doing?...
Mount Kilimanjaro is situated in Tanzania and is the largest mountain in all of Africa, standing tall at 5,895 meters (19,341 ft). On June 26, I will start a 7 day trek to the top that will take me through 5 major eco-zones (including rainforest, alpine desert and glazier). Although in the beginning I will be surrounded by the hot African climate, temperatures will drop as fast as I gain altitude, getting as cold as -20 degrees Celsius. The final ascent will be a 16-hour climb (and decent) that starts at midnight.

As proven by history, some climbers have not made it to the top, being forced to give in to altitude sickness and/or exhaustion. I can’t make any promises, but with your support, I will make every effort to prepare myself for the climb and ensure that my weak ankles can make it to the top.

Why am I investing time, money (and hopefully not my health) climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro?...
Not only will the challenge of this climb be personally rewarding, but it will also be financially rewarding to an organization for which am extremely fond of and have had personal connections to: Volunteer Service Overseas (or put simply - VSO)...

What is VSO?...

VSO Mission - VSO is an international development charity that works to achieve change for disadvantaged people in under-developed countries, with the current focus on six areas: education, HIV & AIDS, disability, secure livelihoods, participation and governance, and health and social well-being.

Volunteer Dependant - To chip away at reaching these goals, VSO relies on professionals from around the world to volunteer their time and skills. Instead of sending food or money, VSO sends women and men from a wide range of professions who want the chance to make a real difference in the fight against poverty. Since 1958, VSO has sent over 30,000 volunteers to work in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Eastern Europe in response to requests from governments and community organizations. There are ~1,500 people actively working in placements in these regions today.

Successful - VSO's work in promoting innovative approaches to globalizing volunteering was acknowledged when they were voted top international development charity in the International Aid and Development category at the Charity Awards 2004.

Personally Important- VSO is an organization that I have seriously considered volunteering time to for the past 3 years, and I have had 2 good friends take a leave of absence from the consulting profession to support VSO placements. Both had tremendously rewarding experiences where they not only were able to learn about a new culture and way of life, but also able to have a personal and lasting impact through their work (an impact often lost in the work place of developed countries). I am happy to be raising funds for a truly great charity, and someday hope to be able to contribute more.

To learn more about the organization, please visit their website...http://www.vso.org.uk/

How can you support me on this journey and the VSO organization?
Providing cheerleading and the occasional neck massage during my training is certainly one way to support me.  But what about VSO...Collectively, you can support me and the VSO organization through an online donation...Small, large, or somewhere in between, every donation dollar counts and is very much appreciated. As for me, I too will be making a significant donation and financial investment to complete this mission…all in, the total funds needed for this challange will be close to $10,000 (including fund raising).
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. Please forward this email to any of your friends or colleagues that may be interested in supporting and ask your company if they do corporate matching. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at jonathan.j.anderson@accenture.com 

Many thanks for your support and I will look forward to providing you an update on my journey to the top.

PS – For currency conversion rates, please visit www.xe.com. (The exchange rate is approximately $2 USD = 1 GBP).