Supporting Anthea and Terry

The story of Laura Perez:

You are not alone, we are in this together!

I’m thankful for meeting Terry and Anthea and grateful for the community they have built Come hike with me Calgary.

My kids were impressed with Anthea and how kind, caring and easy she was to talk to. Warms my heart that so many people on the hiking adventures are so welcoming to my family and look out for each other.

I met Terry as he fixed a few things on my vehicle. I was very grateful that he was able to help me with a bike rack that was rattling. And today I'm also grateful for his kindness and care he has shown towards my family and welcoming us to the Come hike with me Calgary community.

This community provides us with big smiles, connection to nature, kindness, friendship and healing. They have shown us great care and quickly became part of our tribe. All this for free!

Terry told me about his business idea Summit Outdoors and I was impressed how much he and Anthea already accomplished to get it all started. In the near future they will provide bus service and adventures to the mountains.

Later, I found out that this beautiful family could use our community’s financial support to help them realize the dream of connecting even more humans to nature.

Summit Outdoors sees a need in our community to be dedicated in winning the battle against mental stress and health crisis by providing affordable access to hiking through our Rocky Mountains. They want to help create balance in the lives of all that they meet.

This company will strive to help people of all ages and walks of life reach their full potential while being able to connect to nature through recreation. Their hope is to inspire and educate humans on the outdoors so eventually they can find their own tribe and venture out and become the best balanced version of themselves.

There are times in our lives when we are presented with obstacles and sometimes we get overwhelmed by it all and might feel alone and suffer silently. Slowly everything starts to crumble relationships, ideas, energy, motivation.

Through many life lessons I learned that life is a fine balance between good and evil. It’s what we choose to do with that experience of struggle or suffering that can either propel us to be the greatest version of ourselves or it can paralyze us and prevent us from reaching our greatest potential.

In our society there is lots of loneliness and separation and I believe God or the universe has placed these obstacles in Terry’s and Anthea’s path right now so that though business counseling they can come out stronger, work as a unit, understand each other more and in turn help others on their journeys.

Once in a calm state one can truly see that what seemed out of reach is attainable. Because yesterday is gone, tomorrow might never come, so all we have is right now. Right now this moment, right now this breath.

The biggest struggle right now is the start up costs of Summit Outdoors.

Terry has been in school for over a year learning all he could about creating and running a successful business. He has been writing a business plan which is a big undertaking and that still has to be finalized before he can go to any bank and start asking for loans. He has been fixing vehicles on the side to help with the cash flow of the household. Anthea now works two jobs. The bus they purchased still needs a mechanical inspection and new tires. It would be much better to have two busses for many reasons especially to be ready for any emergencies that can unexpectedly come up. Anthea and Terry eventually found an insurance provider, after eight months of searching which added extra stress to the family. In the meantime, Terry experienced a personal loss of his mother and is grieving.

The total cash still required is $100,000.

Today, I humbly ask for your financial support I would like to set a goal of raising $30,000.

However, I encourage you to take a moment and reflect what being part of this community means to YOU! In reality I’m hoping we can raise $60,000 as that would be a more comfortable number so this always giving family is ready for any unexpected costs.

Let’s come together YOU, I, family and friends and help Anthea and Terry breathe a little easier and smile a little more.

Honestly, I have no idea how much to ask you for, but is a gift of $30 something you'd be able to consider?

Let’s show this family the same compassion and kindness they have shown to us all.

They are angels in disguise. This company will heal many and above all provide memories for their guests no matter their ability. These humans have an entire tribe of family, friends and Come hike with me community that love what they stand for and will soon accomplish. But today, they need a helping hand from all of us.

I am thankful to Anthea and Terry for allowing me to write this proposal. In a way I am helping them, but in reality they provided me with an opportunity to heal and realize my full potential. Few years ago I sustained a life altering concussion and every day tasks became a struggle. Because of it over time I lost my dream job, and also was not able to parent my children the way I always imagined.

Today, I truly found our tribe. When we go on hiking adventures everyone helps each other and watches out for my children. I can relax knowing that even when they walk ahead while hiking someone from our Come hike with me community is keeping an eye on them. I am able to rest when I need to as the motto of this group is “no one is left behind”. For a long time I felt lost. I’m pretty resilient so I always found a way to feel happy even in the darkest of times. By writing this proposal I found a purpose in life to be a good friend and to help others whenever I can. I can honestly tell you that I went from feeling happy to actually being happy. So, thank you Anthea and Terry, from the bottom of my heart for creating and sharing your community with my family.

Together we can move mountains. So please reach into your wallet RIGHT NOW and share your magic number. After all, sharing is caring!

We are also looking for your knowledge and expertise that might be helpful with creating and running this company. So, please let us know your superpower!

In addition, I would like to mention that Terry does not want a penny from any of us; he's voiced it over and over. He reluctantly agreed to have this fundraiser posted. It's easy to judge a book by its cover; Terry has proven to me that he is full of humility. He's not thinking less of himself but is thinking about himself less. Think about it! He goes out of his way to help others be happy; communities survive better than individuals; communities rely on cooperation. That's the power of goodness. Let's extend our generosity to the man that keeps sharing his generosity with us all.

Thank you all in advance for your generous support. Written by your friend Laura!