Thank you for visiting the Prestige Club and Ed Hickey's fundraising page!
After successfully taking Kilimanjaro's summit on October 12, I have returned to South Florida and I am anxious to get these dollars working for Prestige's kids. Pictures and other updates are posted at: www.prestigeclub.org/gallery.htm.
Donations have been updated to include the corporate sponsorship of the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Foundation with a pledge of $2,000! Thank you, MSSB! And, just today, an incredibly generous donation from the McPherson Foundation arrived, 2 months to the day of my return from Tanzania. Who says we'll fall short of our goal of $1 per foot??!! As of today, with the incredible grant of $10,000 from this wonderful Foundation, we have exceeded the goal of $19,340 and have our eyes set on $25,000!!!
In the spirit of this effort, we are still collecting donations through October, 2011. Many of the dollars raised ensured a happy and bountiful Thanksgiving and Christmas for Prestige's kids. This most recent donation brought joy directly into some of the neediest homes in our South Florida community! Thank you again!
It was my goal to reach the 19,340 foot summit of Kilimanjaro in October 2010, and, more importantly, to raise funds with each step I would take along the way. The climb took 7 days in all, spanned almost 4 vertical miles, and 42 miles of trails to the summit.
All dollars donated are tax deductible, and will be filtered directly to the children and families' charities that rely on the Prestige Club of Broward County for help. Some of the charities that will benefit from your donation, through Prestige: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward, Hope Outreach, Kids in Distress, Women in Distress, Gilda's Club, The Susan B. Anthony Center, The Rotary Foundation, Wounded Warriors, The Starlight Children's Foundation and the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, among others.
The Prestige Club is a 501(C)3 charity co-founded in 1996 by Polly Wilkie. Polly's mission is identical to the Club's mission: Helping children in need. Every November, Prestige holds their signature event, The Bart Reed Love Fest Picnic. On Saturday Nov. 20, over 4,000 underpriveleged children and their families will be treated to a day filled with food, games and fun at CB Smith Park in Pembroke Pines. At the end of the day, each family will receive a Publix gift certificate to provide turkeys for every needy table. Your donation will assist in that endeavor.
Corporate sponsorships are still available. For donations of $1000 or more, I will take a picture or video with your company logo, banner or t-shirt (provided I can fit it in my pack!) at the peak of Kilimanjaro. Since the temperature will likely be freezing at the peak, and I will need to change my clothing in sub freezing weather, isn't your donation worth that alone? post climb update: ***The temperature on summit day turned out to be a balmy 30 degrees F, despite a -10 degree temperature the day before and a 0 F degree day, one day after I summitted!***
We have lofty goals, but just as Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa, so are the needs of the hundreds of children and families that will benefit from your donation! Times are tough for everyone, but if you give as much as you can, we'll reach the summit together! The kids of Prestige are depending on this to be a success!
Donating through this website is simple, fast and absolutely secure. It is also the most efficient way to support the Klimb for the Kids. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!
You can find out more about Prestige here: www.prestigeclub.org . Thank you!