When I first received the email about Climbing for Kids from my boisterously optimistic friend and colleague at O.A.R.S., Tyra Swanson, a couple years ago, I was excited, but quickly filed it under the long list of things that would be great to do…someday. Even then, the prospect of training for a climb up one of North America’s tallest mountains seemed daunting in and of itself, and the challenge of fundraising more than $5000 for charity seemed virtually insurmountable.

But this year, in the face of a turbulent economy, an endless list of projects at the office, an increasingly flabby physique and limited resources for leisure travel, I decided to rethink the way my life was heading. I needed to put something on the calendar and undertake a personal challenge that would help get me back in shape physically and mentally, while restoring some balance to my life. I thought back to the email I had received from Tyra a couple years earlier and realized there was really no better way to reach my goals than by raising money for underprivileged children in the Bay Area who have never had the chance to experience the wilderness the way many of us routinely do in our own lives.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Steve Markle

O.A.R.S. Marketing & Partnerships Director

2 Comments »

Bula and greetings from Fiji, O yau o James, and over the next couple of months I am going to be reporting on Fiji and the O.A.R.S. experience.  My goal is simple; Provide an inside glimpse of the Rivers Fiji daily adventures and the people that support them. Now that is a daunting task, considering the fact that I am a newly arrived visitor to this island nation. But I am sure with help from my friends here and all of you out there that you can help me on my way. So what exactly will I be writing about?  Everything that I come across, from kayaking down the Luva, Rafting down the Upper Navua, Visiting our partners like the village of Nakavika, and hopefully any little adventures you want to send me on. That’s right! This is going to be an interactive record that you will help with. Do you want to know how fresh water eels are caught? How about the pounding of Kava, Perhaps how traditional tattoos are given (Please don’t ask me to get one, I hear they are very painful) I have a couple of tools with me to help capture these details of life here, a handy video camera, a still camera and my laptop.  So if you want to send me on an adventure, just make a suggestion and we will find out where it leads us. Along the way I will try and give you little tidbits of information, like the fact that Tongans used to visit the islands in order to get feathers from the endemic red-breasted musk parrot. Or the fact that pottery shards dating back to 1290 BC have been found in the Sigatoka valley, just up the coast from our office.  Fiji is an island that holds daily discoveries, and I hope you will enjoy the adventure along with me. Au sa liu mada (see you later) James

Written by James

O.A.R.S. California & Oregon Regional Manager

1 Comment »