The Philadelphia Outward Bound School held a nail-biting fundraiser in Center City, which entailed rappelling a skyscraper from 350 feet above Market Street.
Brave and adventurous fundraisers gathered throughout the day Friday, taking an elevator to the 29th floor of this skyscraper above Market Street and rappelling down to support Philadelphia Outward Bound School.
“The Philadelphia Outward Bound School provides outdoor education programs for students in Philadelphia to help develop character and leadership skills through team building programs and wilderness expeditions,” Justin Ennis, executive director of Philadelphia Outward Bound School.
One of the brave supporters is Frank Jackson. He’s there due to his role as the chairman of the board of Russell Byers Charter School. Students excitedly cheered him on, chanting, “Let’s go, Frank!”
Jackson stepped up to the challenge for the kids at his school, despite his nerves on the elevator ride up.
“I wasn’t nervous until I got up here, and now it’s starting to hit me a bit,” he said.
Just like Spiderman, Jackson made his way down a building and finally made it back to solid ground.
“I feel glad to be on the ground and super super supported, I don’t know if you can hear the cheers but that was amazing,” he said.
Physical trainers also challenged themselves by rappelling a skyscraper and talked about their level of anxiety and fear.
“Going up there, like a 1, said Mary Brown on Team Rotary. “Sitting over the edge, like a 10.5.”
“An ‘oh shoot’ moment,” said Krysten Rimmer on Team Rotary.
This event combines teamwork, camaraderie, adventure and thrill-seeking. It’s exhilarating, it is fun, but at the end of the day, this is a fundraiser that helps to empower children.
“Russell Byers students, it’s so important for them to see that they can climb buildings, get part of these adventures, and I just wanna be a symbol for that,” said Jackson.
Philadelphia Outward Bound School set a fundraising goal of $250,000.