Hiking fundraiser reaches new heights

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUMMITS IN SOLIDARITY

An annual hike-a-thon fundraiser organized by the nonprofit Summits in Solidarity is off to a strong start this year.

Running from March 21, the spring equinox, to June 20, the summer solstice, participating hikers collect pledges for miles hiked.

Summits in Solidarity was founded in 2020 by hikers from the White Mountains to foster justice and equity for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), amplify their voices in outdoor spaces, support anti-oppression and anti-racist efforts, and mobilize hikers to dismantle white supremacy.

Founder and executive director Serena Ryan said each year, it aims to raise $50,000, which will be given to two partner organizations.

This year, 55 hikers and eight teams have registered as of April. They may hike wherever they wish.

On March 21, a kickoff hike was held in Franconia Notch with about 100 participants. The organization had a goal of collectively hiking 321 miles (to mirror the date, 3/21) and raising $10,000. Five sponsors pledged to donate $5 a mile for the 321 miles hiked. However, participants ended up logging 647 miles and raising $15,000 from sponsors and additional donations.

“It went amazingly well,” Ryan said. “It was more successful than we could have imagined.”

Another event is planned for June 6 at the Crawford Notch Depot, with a collective goal of 606 miles and raise an additional $10,000. One athlete plans to climb Mount Willard from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. as many times as he can, and he invites others to join him, particularly at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Participants may also do laps and other routes on their own.

Participating hikers who are fundraising through the hike-a-thon have shared their photos to a community hub. While some are hiking in the White Mountains, others have treks across the globe.

Just two weeks into the fundraiser, the organization has reached $22,000. While the hiking ends June 20, donations will be collected through June 30.

Since it began tracking, Summits in Solidarity has donated more than $200,000 in grants to selected partner organizations.

Summits in Solidarity selects the recipients from applicant organizations that are majority-BIPOC-led.

The funding supports programs to improve fundamental aspects of BIPOC life (such as financial stability, health and education), or to increase BIPOC access to or equity in outdoor recreation. Summits in Solidarity’s BIPOC board members vote on which applicants will be sponsored each year.

The two organizations receiving grants in 2026 are Khmer Maine, a nonpartisan, community organization working to improve the quality of life and the social and economic well-being of Cambodians in Maine, and Intrepid Academy at Hale, which creates opportunities for BIPOC students from cities in the Greater Boston area to experience liberatory outdoor learning, using Hale Education’s 1,100 acres of forested woodlands in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Past grants have allowed organizations to grow their programs, Ryan said.

“We funded Latino Outdoors Boston for two years,” Ryan said. “They used our grants to offer their members transportation from Boston to New England trailheads, continue their ski and surf programs, run camping trips and a white-water rafting trip, and offer more leadership training for their all-volunteer team. It takes big bucks to run these programs, and federal support is drying up.”

Ryan said she was motivated to launch Summits in Solidarity in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd.

“I live and work in northern New Hampshire. I run a hostel. I have a lot of privilege in doing that and access to people who have a lot of privilege in the community, with the time and the money to recreate outdoors and the ability to travel to the White Mountains to do so,” Ryan said. “I asked myself, ‘what can I do individually, with my community — hikers in the White Mountains of New Hampshire — to make a difference?’ That’s how the hike-a-thon idea came to be.”

For more information or to donate, visit summitsinsolidarity.org.