Student leaders raise over $200,000 while achieving personal breakthroughs!

Toronto, ON, April 7, 2007 - Over the March 2007 spring break, 18 high school students, five teachers and one parent from North American independent schools climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa's tallest peak- and raised close to $200,000 to support two educational projects in East Africa.

These students demonstrated leadership by training hard for many months, increasing awareness of Africa in their school and local community, and donating a week of their time while gaining a superb education on development issues at Leaders Today (http://www.leaderstoday.com).

Chelsea Modlin, a 17-year old student participant from Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, said: “The climb taught me that that I can successfully overcome the toughest of challenges. The week of community service gave me a great appreciation of the many challenges facing the Maasai – and the certainty that I can make a meaningful difference in the world.”

And Alex Shum, the teacher at Royal St. George’s College in Toronto who supervised a group of five student leaders who raised $94,000, said: “The trip was life-changing for me. I learned a great deal about the world, about myself and about team-work.”

In Fall/Winter 2007- 2008, there will be multiple exciting Himalayan expeditions to the Annapurna region and to Everest Base Camp, to support the work of the Light up the World Foundation. To view a short National Geographic clip about this organization, please go to http://www.lutw.org/newsletter.htm (hit the right button mouse, then save the file to your desktop, then double-click on the file to view it).

In Fall/Winter/Spring 2007-2008, there will be more climbs up Kilimanjaro.

And in Summer/Fall 2008, there will be similar climbs up to Machu Picchu in Peru.

What do these climbs all have in common? They are SUPERB leadership challenges. Participants must:

1. Be in Grade 11 or 12 if a student, or an alumni (or family member/friend of an alumni) of an independent school or college that has partnered with Climb for Leaders to make these trips available
2. Write a 1000-word essay, which helps them understand a set of global issues (students only)
3. Undertake extensive physical training
4. Raise large sums of money for a cause they believe in
5. Prepare for the trip
6. Pay for their trip costs – some participants choose to fundraise for this, too
7. Overcome a tough physical challenge in the form of a climb
8. Volunteer their time with hands-on activities in vulnerable communities in the developing world
9. Share their experiences with others.

Each of the trips is run by a tour operator who is a specialist in that part of the world.

All details and an online application form can be viewed at http://www.climbforleaders.com. Please visit this website frequently for updates.

By 2010, the goal is to raise at least $1 million annually and make a difference to the lives of thousands of students in many parts of the world, while raising North Americans’ awareness of global development issues.

Please contact Aliya K. Ismail to answer any questions you have, and to see how you can make these exciting opportunities available to student leaders at your school

CONTACT: 
Aliya K. Ismail
Executive Director
Climb for Leaders
aliya@climbforleaders.com
www.climbforleaders.com
905-771-7853