ROUND LAKE CENTRE – A woman who grew up in Round Lake Centre can strike off ‘hiking up Africa’s highest mountain’ from her bucket list.
Crystal Borutskie, daughter of Barb and Mel Borutskie, hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It was all part of a fundraiser through Dreams Mountains Foundation, which supports seven charities including Ride for Dad, Care Canada, Ottawa Senators Foundation, Dreams Take Flight, Habitat for Humanity, SOS Children’s Villages and Ottawa Network for Education (ONFE) Ottawa School Breakfast Program.
Borutskie first heard about the organization through some friends and a post on social media, inviting more climbers to the team.
“I thought to myself, I should do that,” she said. “I think I always had the thought in the back of my mind, but never really thought I would do it. But with this group, I could be sure I was prepared and educated on what to expect and what I would need to do to be successful.”
She chose ONFE Ottawa School Breakfast Program as her charity, raising more than $7,500 over the last eight months.
All of the funds raised go to schools in the Ottawa region and surrounding area to provide healthy breakfasts to children.
“This charity was important to me because it supports children, a topic near and dear to me,” said the aunt of three. “The thought of children going to school hungry, maybe in my own neighborhood, in my city, is heartbreaking. When a child is hungry, they are just not at their best. It is very personally satisfying knowing I did my share to help even just one child have a good start to their day and maybe one day achieve greatness. Dollar for dollar is a breakfast.”
Borutskie never climbed a mountain before, but she said that’s the beauty of Kilimanjaro.
Get your May 3, 2017 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full article.