It might have been cold, but at least it wasn't too wet.
Howie English, a Pitt Meadows resident, travelled - on foot - from his home community, through Burnaby and Vancouver, and up to Horseshoe Bay and back over a 31-hour period this week.
The non-stop "sky walk" of 167 kilometres - a length that represented the one-way distance between his home and Whistler - was carried out to raise money for a pair of organizations that support people with Down syndrome, one of them the Burnaby-based Down Syndrome Research Foundation.
English, a manager at Vancouver's historic Kaplan's Deli, carried out a fundraising walk of half that length last year. This year's goal was to raise $100 per kilometre, or $16,700 in all.
He said the fundraising effort was done in honour of his four-year-old daughter Rebecca, the youngest of three children in the family.
"I remember the night my youngest daughter Rebecca was born, when the doctors told us she had Down syndrome. My wife and I were devastated by the news," he said.
They imagined a life of "segregation, limitations and struggle" for their new child, particularly after learning that Rebecca also had a heart condition associated with Down syndrome that could eventually prove to be fatal.
"Thankfully, Rebecca is still with us today, and she has brought so much joy and love to our family over the years," he said.
English credits organizations like the Burnaby-based research foundation and the Lower Mainland Down Syndrome Society with providing hope, support and encouragement to the family as well as programs for Rebecca to focus on literacy and speech development.
"These organizations are breaking down the barriers that children like Rebecca face and providing opportunities for a safe, rewarding and independent life," he said.
His walk started on Tuesday and wrapped up late Wednesday, March 21 - the same day that's marked internationally as World Down Syndrome Day.
The fundraising tally at press deadlines yesterday was up to $6,000.
