Seven years ago, some friends and I started backpacking through the mountains of Colorado each summer. One thing we discovered was that climbing mountains serves as a powerful metaphor for the way we want to live life–taking on challenges and enjoying the view.

Three years ago we began thinking of making this annual trip more than a metaphor. Was there a way to use this yearly event to take on a real-world challenge and make a difference in the lives of others? Here’s what we came up with. We teamed up with an organization called Amistad Mission, which has served for over 25 years on the front lines of one of the most impoverished places in the world, Bolivia, by providing food, water, and shelter to orphaned and abandoned children.

But they don't stop there. Amistad knows that the key to breaking this vicious cycle of poverty is education, and they are committed to not only raising these precious kids in a loving, healthy environment, but also sending them on to University so that they can come back to their communities and help generate lasting change. These young men and women have encountered challenges that are difficult to imagine—abuse, abandonment and the trauma of life on the streets. Yet they have overcome and are now dedicated to building skills that will help them give back what was given to them. They are pursuing degrees in medicine, social work, education, agricultural engineering and community law. To support them, Amistad Mission has established a scholarship program that covers the costs of room, board, books and tuition for youth who have proven their commitment to meet the challenging University requirements.

So here's where we come in. There are a thousand ways we could help Amistad, but we've decided that each year, we will attempt to raise enough money to pay for a one-year scholarship. Incredibly, just $2,700 covers room, board, tuition and book costs associated with sending one of Amistad’s kids to the University in Bolivia. Over the last two years, we've raised enough to provide multiple full-year scholarships, and we'd like to add more!

So here's our plan this year. For four days, we will be hiking about 27 miles, climbing thousands of feet in elevation as we cross some beautiful Colorado wilderness. If we can raise just $100 per mile of our trip, we can provide a $2,700 full one-year scholarship. Will you help us? Fifty cents a mile? One dollar a mile? Five dollars a mile? Every penny will go to the scholarship. Just click the DONATE button on this page to make your safe, on-line donation. Thank you!

-Brett and Joel

AMISTAD MISSION

Fundraising Campaigns

The Climb for Amistad 2013

The Climb for Amistad 2012

The Climb for Amistad 2011