For Penticton’s Jim Lamond and Kevin Tom, checking an item off their bucket list came at a price, but it’s money they happily paid forward.
The cash they raised came from their fellow employees at First West Credit Union who placed bets on the pair’s Kilimanjaro summit attempt last summer.
Related: Penticton men successfully reach Kilimanjaro summit
“We thought we could do something fun with our staff and we could do a little joke about how far each of us would make it,” said Lamond. “People could vote on it and most people said we would make it all the way but there was one person who didn’t think we would and that really did inspire us, especially the last part.”
on topThe wonderful thing for them is they managed to raise a surprising $3,400 which was split between Penticton and District Search and Rescue and a non-profit agency in Africa.
The decision to support PENSAR came as a result of some help with training they received from one of its members, Randy Brown.
“Randy gave us a lot of tips for the trek and helped us with equipment and talking with him we were really impressed with what search and rescue does in our community,” said Tom. “It’s just amazing what those volunteers do so we thought it would be a good idea to raise some funds for them.”
The climbers did a special presentation for the PENSAR members recently and donated a cheque for $1,700.
About the donation to the organization in Africa Tom explained their decision this way: “I was born in a third world country, Trinidad, but this was poverty on steroids there. There is no excuse for people to live in those conditions and I think that is one of the things I took away was about the people of Africa and what a tough life we witnessed them go through so if we can help even a little.”
