Climbing to help kids get a jump start

Pierrefonds resident Diane Dupuis has taken some major steps to preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a fundraiser to help underprivileged children.

Dupuis, regional manager for the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program in Quebec, worked out on a treadmill for about six hours at the Kirkland Canadian Tire store on Saturday as part of festivities, including a car wash and barbecue, to help her raise the $5,000 required to take part in the climb to Africa’s highest peak. She raised about $1,300 at Saturday’s event.

As part of guided tour with porters, Dupuis said it will be a six-day trek up the mountain and it will take another two days to descend. “I have never done anything like this before,” Dupuis said. “I had to make total changes in my lifestyle, eating habits and I started to do daily training. This climb is not a walk in the park.”

To prepare herself for the physical challenge of the climb, Dupuis said she hiked up about 20 mountains in Quebec as part of her training.

Dupuis said she came up with the idea of the Mount Kilimanjaro climb fundraiser last year to coincide with her 50th birthday. She will be one of 20 members of a Canadian Tire team that will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in mid-October. The Jumpstart program has helped about 34,000 kids in Quebec since 2005, dolling about $3 million.

Locally, Dupuis said funds from the program have helped West Island kids with hockey, football and soccer registration as well as with equipment. “The money goes to the individual (athlete),” she said. “The associations just help identify the kids that need (financial) help.”

For more information, check www.canadiantire.ca/jumpstart. <@Cp>Chronicle, Jacques Pharand<@$p>