Climbing for a Cause: Brittney Woodrum + Colorado’s 58 Fourteeners
Brittney Woodrum, a current graduate student at the University of Denver, is making it her goal to climb all 58 of Colorado’s mountain peaks with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet by the end of this September. A local Rotary club, business or individual will sponsor each climb and the donations will go to those who have been displaced from disasters, who additionally have to deal with the challenges alongside COVID-19.
“I have always been very community and service oriented so as I’ve grown up I have and am always looking for creative ways to get involved,” Woodrum says, “so I combined my passion for service with my love for the outdoors.”
Woodrum says she was raised in Kentucky, right on the foothills of Appalachian where she "practically grew up in the forest.”
In 2015, Woodrum graduated from the University of Kentucky where she studied non-profit administration. Following that, she worked for a variety of non-governmental organizations in Mexico and various countries throughout Southeast Asia. In the fall of 2019, Woodrum began studying for her Masters in humanitarian assistance at the University of Denver.
Being new to the area, Woodrum explains how she has been looking for ways to get involved in the community and also start volunteering for a humanitarian aid organization, which is how she found ShelterBox — an international relief organization that focuses on assisting individuals who have been displaced from their homes. ShelterBox provides emergency shelter for individuals after an earthquake, or some type of disaster, or even for individuals in a refugee camp, or in communities that have been ripped apart from war and conflict.
As an ambassador for the organization, Woodrum gives presentations around the community. Additionally, ambassadors tend to take on challenges too.
“It is kind of a tradition that ambassadors, or it is nothing new, that ambassadors take on these crazy physical challenges,” says Woodrum.
She wanted to do something that was safe but impactful, and that is when she decided to go after her challenge to climb all 58 of Colorado’s Fourteeners.
ShelterBox delivers all of their aid in their iconic turquoise boxes. Ambassadors, like Woodrum, like to incorporate the box while completing their challenges. For that reason, Woodrum says she will be carrying the ShelterBox on her back for all of her climbs.
As a service-oriented individual, Woodrum explains how COVID-19 had her feeling helpless because everyone was being told to stay at home. Now she’s getting out and staying busy climbing Colorado’s mountains, all while giving back the way she knows best. On July 10, 2020, Woodrum started her first climb at Culebra Peak and will be continuing to climb all of the Fourteeners until the September 26, 2020.