Most people ring in their 50th birthdays with cake and confetti.
Not Paul McDonald.
Instead of streamers and a backyard barbecue, he is urging his friends and family to donate money to Access Youth Outreach Services and join him this summer in his effort to hike the Grouse Grind 50 times.
“It was one of my goals this year,” the Coquitlam resident told The Tri-City News shortly after completing his 32nd trip up the North Shore mountain. “I thought I would combine it with raising money. It gives me the motivation to do it and is great exposure for the organization.”
As of July 28, McDonald, who does the hike three times a week, had tackled the Grind 34 times this year for a total of 96,620 steps. And with $12,325 in donations already collected, he was quickly closing in on his fundraising goal of $20,000.
So far, his best time has been 56 minutes — and he once did the trek four times in one day.
“The first three were no problem,” he said.
The fourth was shaping up to be a different story but, thanks to a pep talk from Vancouver Canuck Daniel Sedin, who happened to be on the Grouse Gondola heading down after McDonald’s third trip, he said he was able to tackle the fourth hike with renewed enthusiasm.
“The fourth one felt like it took three hours but it only took an hour, 21 minutes.”
McDonald hasn’t been alone on his hikes. He was recently joined by 15 people from the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce and friends, family and community members routinely join him for his climbs up the mountain.
“It has been amazing,” he said. “There were three people the other day that did it for the first time. The looks on people’s face when they do it is pretty priceless.”
McDonald said he has always wanted to help young people.
A few years ago, he went back to school to get a bachelor of science and a teaching certificate with the intention of finding work in the public school system. But the teachers’ strike at the time had him looking at other ways he could have an impact on young people.
“I realized I could do this with my business,” he said.
With his hauling company Ethical Waste Services, he began donating 50% of his profits to ACCESS Youth Outreach Services, a not-for-profit that supports youth in the Tri-Cities and Langley.
“I was looking for something that was grassroots,” he said, “something that had no government funding… I wanted to help locally.”
So when it came time to do his 50 Grinds, he said it was natural for him to once again raise money for Access Youth. His charitable work is all the motivation he says he needs to stay on track with his 50-Grinds goal and he said he is scheduled to complete the effort with one last hike on Aug. 14.
• Those who wish to donate money can go to McDonald’s website at www.50grinds.com.
@gmckennaTC
