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The idea to raise money for HERA dawned on me while shuffling through magazines at Wal-Mart (Or "Wally-World as its known on the AT, sort of a necessary evil). I saw a year-old issue of Climbing Magazine that I decided to pick up. When I asked for a discount, stating it would stay there for another year if I didn't buy it, they just said "No". In the back was an ad for a HERA rock climbing fundraiser. I finally got in touch with Sean Patrick, founder of HERA and ovarian cancer survivor, and learned just how great an organization HERA is, and how far their money actually goes.
My mother, Barbara Seymour, passed away in January at the age of 60 from ovarian cancer after four years of living with the disease. I took some time off at the University of Colorado at Boulder where I was set to graduate in May. I thought the Appalachian Trail would be a good way to spend my time off and spent February working and planning for it.
I hope to raise somewhere between $3,000 to $4,000 for the organization through my hike from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, this could be almost two dollars a mile. No contribution is too small. If you are interested in donating, please log onto Climb4life.org, and click on "Giving". Make sure to make it in memory of Barbara Seymour, and they will send me a notification of the donation. I'll send a postcard from the trail describing the stretch of the trail sponsored, hopefully with a good story or some AT history.
I hope the money raised in my mother's memory can help increase awareness and contribute to HERA's long term goals. Feel free to contact me at Andrew.Seymour@Colorado.Edu with any questions you may have, though it may take a few days to respond. Here is a brief synopsis of some of the ground covered on the trail thus far.
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Andrew Seymour
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia