Langley City firefighter Colby Dodd has reached his fundraising goal, but he still wants to hit a bigger total before he heads off to take part in a gruelling charity event honouring fallen firefighters.
Dodd will represent the Langley City Fire Department when he takes part in the fifth annual New York City Memorial Stair Climb, a fundraising event and memorial, on Saturday, May 4.
Dodd will climb 80 floors of the new World Trade Centre 3 in full firefighter turnout gear, including oxygen tanks.
His goal was to raise more than $2,000, and thanks to the generosity of Langley residents, Dodd has raised more than $2,800 and is closing in on $3,000.
But he isn’t slowing down his training or his fundraising. The overall fundraising total for the Memorial Stair Climb is still short $35,000 of its goal, and Dodd is hoping to make up some of that shortfall.
Dodd’s own father Terry was a firefighter on 9/11, working in Richmond. He recalled his father’s reaction to the news that day, including the death of hundreds of firefighters who were trying to rescue people trapped in the Twin Towers.
Each firefighter in the Memorial Stair Climb participates in honour of an individual firefighter who lost their life after the terrorist attack that led to the collapse of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
Dodd will be climbing in honour of Alan D. Feinberg, a member of FDNY Battalion 9, and Dodd will be wearing Feinberg’spicture during the event.
He and the other participants will make the climb in their full turnout gear – 75 to 80 pounds of coat, boots, helmet, and oxygen tank.
Money raised from this year’s climb will be given to A Soldier’s Journey Home, a non-profit group of firefighters and veterans that works to build homes for severely injured soldiers.
This year’s ASJH project is to build a home for a wounded U.S. Marine named Alex Edwards, who was injured by an IED in Afghanistan in 2013.
Donations can be made online at memorialstairclimb.com.