Climbers for 1st Responders

To the Roof of Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet)

First responders include police officers, firefighters, dispatchers, medics, EMTs, nurses, armed forces, crime scene investigators, and others.  As the name implies, first responders are often the first people to arrive at the site of emergency situations.   Most first responders see, hear, taste, smell, and touch more trauma in a month than the average citizen does in a lifetime.  Such experience sometimes leads to symptoms suggestive of Post Traumatic Stress (PSTD).  One of us, a first responder, developed PSTD.  Help is easily possible but awareness of, and resources for, this help is often limited.

 To support first responders we have established a team known as “Climbers for First Responders”.  We have set a mission to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in honor of all the first responder heroes whose lives have been affected by critical incidents.  First responders put their physical, emotional, and spiritual lives on the line everyday and as a result may experience troubling symptoms.  We want first responders to know that we understand how important they are to our country, support their recovery and hope they can continue to lead productive, as well as happy lives.  Our hope is to raise awareness of these issues. 

  Along with the goal of raising awareness of PTSD among first responders, we are also raising money to enable them get the help if and when needed.  An active organization that supports first responders start the healing process is WCPR in California www.wcpr2001.org.  WCPR was started in 1999, by a group of Northern California Law Enforcement, Fire Services, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) peers, and a chaplain.  They came together to help fellow first responders who were overwhelmed by the debilitating impact of critical incident stress. 

Your donations are tax deductable.

NO MONEY RAISED WILL BE USED TO SUPPORT THE COST OF THE CLIMB.  Each climber is paying completely for the cost of the climbing gear, the airfare to and from Tanzania and the cost of the climb.

 If you wish to send a check directly to WCPR please make the check payable to WCPR and include “Climbers for First Responders” on the check so we can send you an update of the results of our climb.  The address is: