Sitting near the window of a moving bus, I saw this ethereal beauty that decorated Seattle’s landscape on sunny days with its magical presence come closer and closer. Now standing at its foot, the carvings of a John Muir quote rightly describes the visual I behold – Mt. Rainier is the most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens. Of all the fire mountains, it is the noblest.
I witnessed nature like never as I explored this iconic mountain along the Skyline trail watching the terrain shift from sprawling alpine grasslands to snow covered volcanic rock to beautiful streams and happy wildlife to magnificent wildflower-filled meadows. With every passing summer, I sought out the hiking treasures of the Pacific Northwest to discover more brilliant views of rivers, lakes, waterfalls, wildflowers and mountains. In my quest for seeing more of Mother Nature, I now seek to climb Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Baker for all their natural glory.
And who better to do it but with a bunch of people with a similar wanderlust? Climb for Asha is a brilliant program that brings together people passionate about hiking and backpacking to train and achieve their novice dream of climbing mountains. The program elevates this experience by providing an opportunity to every participant to associate their climb with fundraising initiatives for Asha for Education. Luckily, I am one of the chosen few.
The fundraising goal I have set for myself is $300 and I would kindly request you to help me meet it. Just so you know, all expenses for my climbing gear, travel and guiding are self-funded. 100% of all donations will go to Asha directly and are totally tax exempted.
About Asha –
Asha is a secular, non-profit, and an all-volunteer driven organization working towards socio-economic change in India. Their focus is to empower the marginalized communities through education primarily for women and children. One of the many projects that Asha drives is called GRAVIS, which aims to provide water security for villagers living in desert regions of Rajasthan. Some other goals of GRAVIS includes spreading literacy among children in the region, improving health conditions of women and children through health education and provisioning of health services.
How to donate?
- To Donate – Please click on the Donate button in this page.
- If your employer matches donations – Please find the non-profit organization under the name “Asha for Education, Seattle Chapter“ and mention “Climb for Asha 2018 – Jayashri Lakshmanan” in your donation.
Thank you for taking the time to read my long memo. Looking forward to all the love and support you can provide! 😊