Riseup for Rosies

My name is Andrew Keogh and I’m a 40-year-old high school teacher from Glenala SHS in Brisbane with a passion for adventure.
For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of conquering Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest summit in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world.

After years of waiting, I am in the fortunate position of being able to choose take on this challenge.

Unfortunately, there are many people in our society whose choices in life are far more limited.

The reality of this hit home recently when I was introduced to the Brisbane arm of not-for-profit outreach service Rosies.

Established on the Gold Coast in 1987, it has since spread to 11 centres throughout Queensland, offering a helping hand to those in need through a program of street outreach, children’s and drug court support, youth detention visitation and prison outreach.

By providing something as simple as a cup of coffee, a biscuit or just a friendly smile and a chat, Rosies reaches out to those who are abandoned, marginalised or socially isolated, offering them the experience of community and belonging.

While the outreach is made possible by a band of dedicated volunteers, Rosies depends on the generous donations of others to help cover the cost of the service.

To that end, I have decided to couple Rosies’ quest with my own and use it to help raise some much-needed funds for this amazing organisation.

It’s nearly 6000m from the base to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, so my goal is to raise $1 for every metre that I will climb. Hopefully smashing this target will be far easier than actually taking on the mountain!
My trip to Tanzania will be entirely self-funded, with 100 per cent of the donations going to help Rosies continue their valuable work. As little as $5-10 is all it takes to make a considerable difference to those that really need it.

To find out more about Rosies visit http://rosies.org.au/