Helping kids tackle own mountains

Traveling to Africa to climb a 19,300-foot mountain through five climatic zones might seem like a big undertaking, but after almost a year of training, Joseph Chairez says he is ready.

Chairez has been eating right, hiking and getting up at 5 a.m. on weekends since January to train to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. He has climbed a volcano in Mexico, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S., and has been stockpiling climbing equipment.

With his vaccinations out of the way and malaria pills ready, Chairez is ready to “Climb for our Kids,” a fundraiser for Huntington Beach students.

“I’m excited. I’ve been training a lot for it. It’s almost like my body is ready to get there,” he said.

Chairez is traveling to Africa to raise money for the El Viento Foundation, a youth development organization in Huntington Beach.

“If anyone can do it, Joe can do it,” Executive Director Zayda Garcia said.

The foundation works to help students in the underprivileged Oak View neighborhood get into college by giving them academic assistance, enrichment opportunities and summer camps, Garcia said.

“Our kids have a lot of obstacles when living in an area like Oak View,” Garcia said.

Twenty-five fourth-graders are selected for the program every year, and if they see it through to graduation, they get a two-year college scholarship.

“You can see in their eyes that they want to succeed, and they just want someone to tell them they can,” he said.

Chairez is on El Viento’s Board of Directors and part of the organization’s Christmas Club, which came up with the idea for the climb.

The club was looking for something different than the normal fundraisers to compete with the difficult economy, Chairez said.

The original plan was to climb Saddleback Mountain, but the group wanted more.

“The whole concept here is to teach kids to dream big,” Chairez said.

The club wanted not only to raise money, but also to teach the kids to have high aspirations and show them how to plan and reach their goals.

Part of the fundraiser is an educational component for the kids.

Chairez has gone on three hiking trips with them, shared his books on preparing for the climb with the students and brought in all his different climbing equipment. The students also are learning about Africa, Garcia said.

“It’s opened their eyes to another country and another culture,” Chairez said.

Students wrote letters to Chairez for his trip. One girl wrote to thank him for raising money for them.

“I hope you come back with lots of cool stories. I’m happy there are people like you looking out for my future,” she wrote above a hand-drawn picture of a volcano.

Chairez leaves for Tanzania, Africa, on Dec. 16 and will spend a few days acclimatizing before starting the eight-day climb.

Chairez is paying all the expenses for his trip, which he said is easily $10,000. For all his work, the goal is to raise $100,000.

“This way, every cent we raise goes directly to the kids,” he said.

How To Help

Donate online: www.elviento.org

By mail: El Viento Foundation, P.O. Box 3894, Huntington Beach, CA 92605