I started hiking 4 years ago when I got my first dog Simba, a Labrador who smiles only when he is out, to expend his crazy amount of energy. No mountain was tall enough nor any trail long enough for my pup and this soon set us on our own adventures of exploring trails around Washington and Oregon every summer. When my second dog Nala, the jolly golden retriever, joined our little pack, this turned into our most favorite family activity almost every weekend and it was very hard not to fall in love with this beautiful state and everything it has to offer. Every hike I choose, invariably lend itself to a venerable view of Mt.Rainier, and I would longingly stare and tell myself that someday I would seriously get into mountaineering.
When some of my friends & colleagues signed up for Mt. Rainier charity climb sponsored by Asha in 2017, I realized that it was time to push myself out of my comfort zone and make my dream a reality. I will be climbing Mt. Olympus in August 2018 and I am very excited to do it for Asha for charity. In order to train for it, I will be hiking a lot around the I-90 corridor (feel free to say “hi” to me and my crazy pups if you see them dragging me over the mountains!) and climbing Mt. Adams and Mt St Helens this summer with some lovely Asha volunteers. Doing these climbs for Asha makes it more special because of their noble cause which is very close to my heart.
More about Asha For Education:
Asha for Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of basic education in rural and economically poor-areas and, to provide financial assistance to grassroots educational movements in India. Coming from a family of educators, I have personally seen the power of education and the positive influence it can wield over a family for generations to come. It is heartbreaking to watch young kids drop out of schools because their parents couldn’t afford school supplies (~$10) or the monthly school tuition (~$20) but it is a sad reality in most parts of India. Your donation, no matter how small, makes a huge difference in the lives of thousands of young children because education remains their only hope and tool to escape the poverty line and forge a brighter future for themselves.
Asha has several wonderful projects in their pipeline and one that struck a chord in my heart is the Astha project – an outreach project in the slum communities of Govindpuri, in South Delhi that provide rehabilitation services to children with disabilities such as Polio, Blindness, Speech and Hearing impairments, Epilepsy, Mental Retardation and Cerebral Palsy and support to their families. Members of Asha not only help provide financial assistance to these projects, but also attempt to maintain a close contact and personal involvement with the organizations and projects in India year-round. If you’d like to read more about their fantastic projects, please visit http://seattle.ashanet.org/home/our-projects.
My goal for this summer is to raise $700 for their wonderful cause. I’d like to clarify that any amount donated towards Asha will 100% go towards their projects and not towards the cost of covering my summit. I will be taking care of my own expenses for the climbs, guide services and gears. With that said, I would really appreciate support of any form you can offer to this wonderful organization.
Here are some more links to learn about Asha for Education:
Donations:
Some ways to donate –
- Microsoft employees can donate by selecting “Asha for Education, Seattle Chapter” on http://give page and adding a comment “Team Asha Climb 2018 : Swathy Selvaraj”.
- You can write a check payable to “Asha for Education”, with a comment: “Team Asha Climb 2018 : Swathy Selvaraj”.
- You can donate online in Asha’s website with a comment “Team Asha Climb 2018 : Swathy Selvaraj”.
Please note that if you have employer matching, don’t forget submit a match request to them. All your donations are tax deductible and every dollar matters.
Thank you for your time and support!