Trekking for a good cause

Trekking for a good cause

Together, the 120 trekkers and their supporters raised a record setting amount for a single fundraising event in support of the company's charity.

Royal LePage Shelter Foundation

Waking in the pitch black of early morning in the Sahara Desert, the Challenge for Shelter trekkers dress quickly and pack up camp under the light of their headlamps. They enjoy a breakfast of coffee, oatmeal and thin Moroccan pancakes with honey – the carbohydrates necessary to fuel them for the long day of hiking ahead.

Over the course of five days, the Royal LePagers trek more than 100 kilometres, navigating a variety of terrain, including rocky river beds, dried up lake beds that crunch underfoot, endless stretches of sand and volcanic rock-covered hills. They tend to blisters, sprained ankles and sore backs along the way, cheering each other on and reaching out a steady hand to support others in need. Their motivation is shared, yet personal; they set their sights high to raise funds to support the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, and to experience a life-changing travel adventure with new friends.

The top fundraiser, Danielle Margolis of Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate in Winnipeg, raised a whopping $38,584, followed by Lindsey Edwards of Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty in Cobourg, Ontario who raised $37,281.

Every day at lunchtime, the trekkers gather round to read a story of a domestic violence survivor who received life-changing support through one of the shelters funded by the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. “It helps to reinforce that what we’re doing really matters,” says Shanan Spencer-Brown, Executive Director, Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.

They think of these brave women and children as they walk for hours on end, and while climbing a massive sand dune stretching 300 metres to the sky. “We’re here to bring safety and hope to individuals back at home who live with abuse and violence,” Spencer-Brown says. “Our hardship is temporary, our physical and mental strain transient. Our “why” is so much stronger than our discomfort.”

This year’s “Challenge for Shelter” trekkers take on the Sahara Desert in Morocco, raising over $1.1 million in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.

rlp.ca/saharaforshelter