Kilimanjaro Climb 2024

For several years, Kelly Letter subscribers have requested charitable projects to which our financially successful community could direct a portion of its wealth.

We have performed well in the stock market, particularly after the advent of our 9Sig growth plan in 2017, which achieved a compound annual growth rate of 38% over the seven years ended 3/1/24. That is remarkable, and it created many millionaires.

This year, for the first time since running Socks for Japan to support survivors of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, I’m pleased to announce a new charitable project:

Missions of Hope International (MOHI)

This non-governmental organization in Nairobi helps orphaned children and others throughout Kenya. In 2024, it is working with CMF International to help children from villages like this:

I will be one of 35 people climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this July to raise $200,000.

The funds have a specific purpose within MOHI’s overall mission: to build a sports program, including equipment and multipurpose sports fields. The new facilities will help children like the boys pictured below nurture their athletic talent, develop ambition, and learn the value of teamwork:

And there are a lot of them! MOHI teaches more than 30,000 children at its 34 facilities throughout Kenya. If enough of these children become capable, driven leaders, they could create upward momentum to help their communities escape poverty. I am a fan of helping people help themselves, and the MOHI organization embraces just such a philosophy.

In preparation for my July climb, I have been training in Japan, where I live. This June, I will return to my hometown in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to train at an elevation above 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), before flying to Nairobi in preparation for the big climb up the highest peak on the African continent and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world. Mount Kilimanjaro rises in breathtaking isolation from the surrounding coastal scrubland to a height of 19,341 feet (5,895 meters).

My team will take what is called the Machame Route, nicknamed the Whiskey Route. It is the most popular way up the mountain, stretching from the tropics to the arctic. We’ll work our way up from a rain forest to a ridge through the moorland zones below the Shira Plateau. Our path will then wind below frosty cliffs in the southern ice fields, merging with the Barafu Route for our final ascent to the summit. We’ll spend our nights in tents pitched by porters. The peak looks like this:

I will cover my airfare, expedition fees, and equipment. On top of these, my personal responsibility for the MOHI athletic project is to raise $5,000.

Would you like to contribute? It would mean a lot to me to have you on my team of supporters, and a lot to the children whose lives we will improve. CMF is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Contributions are tax deductible. My donation page is at: https://fundraising.idonate.com/cmf-international/Kili2024/jasonkelly

Thank you for considering this project!