Chris Burke Offers Free Presentations
The following is a post written by our sponsored climber Chris Burke. Over the past number of years Chris has been relentless not only in her pursuit to climb all 14 8000m peaks, but also in support of various organisations and people that she feels she can make a difference to. In particular she is striving continually give back to the country that has given her so much, Nepal. Chris is returning to Australia at the end of the year and has outlined below a great opportunity for anyone who would appreciate a presentation from one of our great modern adventurers and activists. - Matthew Eaton
FREE* PRESENTATION – LIMITED SPOTS FOR A LIMITED TIME!
FROM THE COUCH TO EVEREST & K2
CHRIS (JENSEN) BURKE
Some of you will know that I am the only Australian or NZ woman to climb the formidable K2, the world's second highest but most challenging peak. Whilst over 400 women have climbed Mt Everest, only 18 have climbed K2. I have climbed 8 of the world's 14 highest peaks, including Mt Everest. I have some amazing stories to tell. I would love to share some of them in aid of Nepal.
I will be in Australia from 6 October 2015 until 19 January 2016. After that, I return to the mountains for another long stint. Free presentation I am offering to waive my normal corporate speaking fee and present a free sensational 40 minute motivational and inspirational presentation* to groups in Sydney. I have presented to many entities including Telstra, Westpac, Caltex, AIS, Olympic coaches and athletes, clubs and schools. Testimonials are on my website at: www.chrisjensenburke.com There are limited spots available. I can do some lunchtimes in the Sydney CBD or surrounds (on week days), or evening talks after 530pm or 630pm, depending on location. It will be a case of first in, first inspired*. Feel free to share this with others who might be interested to organise an event.
What do I ask in return?
In consideration for me presenting, groups will be asked to give me money in an amount of their choice and I will donate the money for use on aid projects in Nepal, where I guarantee that 100% of monies raised go to the projects of the kind listed on my website under 'The Power In Girls'. No administration fees, no scary overheads. I have no plans to personally make money out of The Power in Girls missions - so far, all profits and more have gone to Nepal aid, sponsoring a teacher to a remote village (an initial 3 year commitment), buying school supplies, and soon we will provide solar power to a village and hopefully more villages to come. Women's health and welfare is also on my agenda, as in Nepal there is significant inequality for women and girls. You will find more information at: http://www.chrisjensenburke.com/the-power-in-girl In addition, my inspirational handbook 'The Power In Girls' and warm hats that are handmade in Nepal will be available for sale at the presentations (until they run out!). A sample hat is shown.
Again, all profits from these sales go to Nepal aid. (I’ll be doing cost recovery only, if that). I will rely on the goodwill of attendees at presentations to 'give something back'. Maybe, you want to make a presentation a client event for your organisation. It is up to you. The more people you involve, the more chance I have of donating money from this initiative to Nepal. You will need to arrange a venue in Sydney, at your cost. If you have me travelling huge distances then you might need to pay my transport and maybe buy me a bottle of soda pop :-). I am not a charity of any kind. I am not soliciting donations. You won't get any tax benefits. You will simply be aiding good causes because you want to hear some good stories, be inspired and you believe in the mission. For those who sent money my way previously for Nepal earthquake aid, they were impressed with my open accounting. I report all updates and initiatives on my website and Facebook page ‘Chris Jensen Burke Mountaineer’. I’ve even provided balance sheets.
Bonus
As a bonus, my partner in climb, legend climber Lakpa Sherpa will also be in Sydney for part of the same period. He may be able to come along to a select number of presentations. For those presentations, I'll be keen to encourage people to dig even deeper for the cause. Some will know of his climbing feats, few will know of this humble man's more impressive rescues, including probably one of the highest rescues in the world at 8700m on Mt Everest (which stands at 8848m), of someone who was in the process of being left for dead. It took Lakpa and 1-2 other people 36 hours to descend. This happened on Lakpa's first expedition to Mt Everest, then under the banner of a foreign led team. Oh, and he was not with the climber when they were first in trouble. He climbed up to the climber over a period of hours...! To put that rescue in perspective, Lakpa and I made a rescue of a climber on Mt Everest in 2011, but from 8,600m, and because the climber was semi-coherent and could move a bit, it took us about 6 hours to get the person to ‘safety’. I can still clearly remember my reaction to the realisation that someone needed help, and the possibility I might die helping them. It would not be the last time... Only weeks ago, Lakpa climbed up Broad Peak (a big mountain in Pakistan) from base camp and lowered down a stricken climber who had compound fractures after being hit by an avalanche that scuttled 7 climbers, and claimed the life of one. Two more avalanches released as he performed the rescue. Others who were with the climber explained they did not know how to lower the climber down, and on such difficult terrain. Lakpa did it, and blew everyone away. When he lowered the climber to waiting medics, he quietly walked away. Whilst we have done rescues together, I stand more in awe of his many other rescues. Fine print – made bigger • The aim is for me to provide a pretty interesting and inspirational presentation to your attendees, and for your attendees to help aid Nepal • In the lead up to the presentation, I would like to encourage you to give me your thoughts on an angle you would like me to take, or themes you would like me to cover. Believe me… I can easily relate the stories to your business • There are some ideas on angles and themes on my website at: http://www.chrisjensenburke.com/speaking • The angle and themes will be woven into the mountain stories I tell • If you can provide a computer, projector and screen, then I will provide visuals in the form of a Powerpoint presentation. I will bring a USB with the Powerpoint presentation on it. I cannot email the presentation to you as it is too big due to high resolution photos (Note: some projectors do not need a computer – just a USB, so I will leave it with you to work out the techno side of things) • I will try to bring some mountaineering gear to have on display. My aim is not to incur expenses in giving the presentations – I’m on a budget to complete my climbing mission. So, if I need a taxi, I might ask you to chip in • My book THE POWER IN GIRLS will be on sale for $AU15.00 (including GST, if any) • I am yet to confirm the exact price of the handmade warm hats, made in Nepal, but the price will be around $AU15.00 - $AU20.00 There are limited spots, so please book quickly. I will try my best to accommodate where I can! Regards, Chris www.chrisjensenburke.com +61 411 261 654 (when in Australia) +977 981 881 2723 (when in Nepal) cpjb@ymail.com 2 Sept 2015