Fundraising Mission: Accomplished!

As much as I love being around people - especially friends and family - I consider myself relatively introverted. My good friend Sarah says I'm an introvert with extrovert tendencies, meaning I love being around people and being social, but need a significant amount of alone time, what I affectionately call "Katie Time" to recharge. That being said, I have difficulty figuring out how to handle situations in which I receive attention and encouragement, including big birthday parties....and fund raising efforts that result in my receiving significantly more support and generosity than I ever imagined possible.

I'm elated to say that with the support of 63 incredible donors, I met my Summit for Someone fund raising minimum of $4,000 tonight. Reaching that goal took 52 days. I'm speechless, absolutely floored, and not entirely sure what to say to everyone who helped me. Except thank you. And even that doesn't seem to be enough.

I knew that Big City Mountaineers was important to me, but had no idea how many of you would rally around me. I had donors explain how they loved the BCM concept and others who seemed more concerned about helping me whether the cause mattered to them or not. Every time I received a donation, I had to spend a minute or two, or ten, trying to figure out how to explain to that person what they've done with their gift. And what that gift means to me.

With so many incredibly deserving organizations and so many people in need in the world, I am so touched that those 63 people felt Big City Mountaineers and my Summit for Someone climb was one of them. Donations came from some of the most unexpected places - friends of friends, college classmates I haven't seen since graduation, colleagues and coworkers across the country, family friends - and I'm more than grateful for the generosity of people whose lives have been intertwined with mine in some way, and who understand what this climb means to me.

So, from the bottom of,
as my friend KatieBeth would say, my incredibly full and grateful heart,


THANK YOU!