If you see Steveston’s Suzi Doggett running the local trails in the summer heat you can be sure her focus is fixed on a chilly day in November.
That’s when the 55-year-old mother of three is planning to reach the base camp of Mt. Everest as part of a fundraising trek in support of the Summits of Hope, a made-in-Richmond non-profit organization which donates funds to B.C. Children’s Hospital.
“You know, when you think about what the kids who are at B.C. Children’s go through in a bid to get healthy again, it makes what you do on one of these climbs pretty insignificant,” said Doggett who, along with her husband, John Doyle, climbed among the active and dormant volcanoes of Ecuador last November on an SOH trip.
For that that climb, Doggett raised around $15,0000 — all climbers have to raise a minimum of $5,000 and have to pay their way to and from the climb destination.
“People like Suzi and John are the lifeblood of Summits of Hope,” said Richmond resident Russ Barstow, president of SOH who, along with a group of friends started the organization in memory of a young cousin he lost to cancer with a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1999.
Since that time, SOH has raised $3 million for B.C. Children’s Hospital.
“It’s amazing what our volunteers do, the talents they have that they use to raise money,” added Barstow.
In Doggett’s case, she came out of retirement as a dental hygienist, got re-certified and put her skills to use providing a teeth cleaning session at a Whistler dental office to add to the total she raised for her donation on the Ecuador climb.
For the upcoming trek to the Everest Base Camp, Doggett has teamed up with Steveston dentist Maureen Piche at Harmony Dental Studio to hold a one-day dental hygiene service on July 21 with 100 per cent of the proceeds going towards SOH.
She is also holding a fundraiser at the Creek Bread Restaurant in Whistler on July 15 and is taking along donations — toques and hats — from the Steveston Tuesday Night Knitting Club that will be sold at the event.
Doggett said she has always been an outdoors enthusiast and the SOH has been able to combine that love with a drive to help make a difference.
“I thought it would be a good way to combine the two,” Doggett said. “I wanted to do some adventure travel and wasn’t comfortable signing up with just any travel company to do it. But this is a local group. And when I heard about what they did, I thought it was a great opportunity.”
Among the areas at B.C. Chidren’s Hospital that SOH supports is the Child Life Department that climbers assemble a “mountain of toys” — everything from infant rattles to iPads that patients use during their stay.
To book an appointment for a teeth cleaning, call 604-241-3775 or email dhbydonation@gmail.com.
For more information on the Summits Of Hope, visit summitsofhope.com.
