Let’s face it, paddling the Yukon River on a near source-to-sea run is a dream come true.

But over and above the challenges and joy of padding the river, we have the opportunity to do something else that’s really special – supporting our North American first responders. It doesn’t matter if they’re firefighters, search-and-rescue groups, EMTs or EMS personnel, park rangers or other law enforcement – we want to aid the first responders that help outdoor enthusiasts when we face life-threatening problems in the woods or on the water.

Here’s how this will work, and how you can help: The “Yukon Journey” expedition is fully funded through sponsorships and by the paddlers involved. But we’ll be raising money along the way through a YouCaring fundraising page. Those who would like to donate can do so without charge on that platform, and we can then direct your donation to the nonprofit groups, teams or first responder students who can use it the most.

Not a single penny of the money you donate for first responders is going to the trip’s expenses, nor are there are any bloated salaries going to high-priced executives or marketing budgets that eat away at your generosity. That means a full 100% of the net proceeds raised to support first responders during the river trip will do just that.

The only costs incurred with this effort are the processing fees that every credit card company and PayPal charge – about 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation – when you pitch in to help the cause. The rest of your money goes to directly to organizations and select individuals whose work or volunteer activities help us all. (If you write a check, btw, there’s no fee involved and a full 100% goes to first responders!)

How can we do that with so little overhead? It’s simple. Because the fees for this site, and every line written here and photos included on all of our websites, press releases, etc., are provided without cost. The paddlers on this trip believe so strongly in the work of North America’s first responders that we’re volunteering our time and effort so we don’t have to hire others to do this work.

We’re also paying the administrative costs of this program which other companies usually take out of your donation. So we’re paying for the hosting of this site, the software to run it, the computer on which it’s put together, as well as postage, bank fees, accounting fees, etc. That means your funding goes directly to the people who can use it the most.

How will you know this is true? Because at the end of the year, we’ll publish financial information for the “Yukon Journey” expedition so you can track exactly where your money went…and we mean where every single penny went!

The bottom line is that we’re not doing this for profit or publicity. We’re doing this because we saw what happens when numerous types of first responders were needed for three large wildland forest fires as we paddled through the Carmacks area in the Yukon Territory. Their work was inspiring, and that’s why we’re putting together the fundraisers now. (See the “Why make this Yukon Journey” blog entry for more information about those fires.)

I hope you’ll follow our adventure on social media and this website when we dip our paddles in the water this June. I also hope you’ll take this opportunity to help fund those who help us when we need it the most.

Thank you!

jvb