The Washington Hikers and Climbers (WHC) Facebook group has raised almost $12,000 for Recovery Beyond in memory of our friend and supporter Ann Nelson.
Ann, a moderator for WHC, tragically lost her life in August 2019 while hiking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Her sudden passing touched many people around the world including those in the hiking and climbing community. We were honored to be chosen by WHC moderators to be the beneficiary of a Facebook fundraiser in her memory.
In addition to being an experienced northwest hiker and climber, Ann was a brilliant physicist and generous community supporter. She believed in providing opportunities for those who are disadvantaged, marginalized, or facing discrimination. Ann clearly lived beyond herself, and this was evident by the outpouring of support the WHC fundraiser received. Contributions rolled in quickly, and the fundraising goal of $10,000 was achieved in just over a week.
Ann became a strong advocate of our work after learning about us from McKenzie Johnson, one of our “super” volunteers. “Ann saw me posting on WHC and followed our Facebook page after that. She was a believer in Recovery Beyond, and me, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that,” McKenzie says. “She was the one who was behind WHC allowing us to post about Recovery Beyond on their page.”
“The first thing we did was ask for gear donations. When we do mountaineering activities, we have to outfit everyone with hiking boots, helmets, and other equipment. We’ll take anything that’s in good condition,” says Nate Lanting, Program Manager for Recovery Beyond. “WHC was having a social, and they let us use that event as a gear drop. All the moderators were on board, but Ann was the champion.”
As a young nonprofit, we were consistently encouraged by Ann and her husband David’s constant support for our program and participants. “Although Ann wasn’t in recovery herself, she connected with the idea of healing and addiction recovery through the outdoors,” Nate says. “One thing that is true of anyone in addiction recovery is the necessity to heal from pain in life. There’s no doubt that she connected with this sentiment and understood it.”
To date, the WHC fundraiser in remembrance of Ann Nelson has raised almost $12,000 for Recovery Beyond. These funds will be directed toward developing a new program, Climbing Up, which will be available to the broader recovery community throughout King and Pierce Counties.
Thank you to everyone who donated for your generous support. We will continue to honor Ann’s memory through bringing people to the outdoors for their health and wholeness.
If you’d like to make a donation in Ann’s memory, you can do so at: https://donate.recoverybp.org/campaigns/in-remembrance-of-ann-nelson/.
