THE ASCENT BEGINS: KENNA, JESSICA BIEL, EMILE HIRSCH, LUPE FIASCO, ELIZABETH GORE AND FRIENDS EMBARK ON SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: KILIMANJARO TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE GLOBAL CLEAN WATER CRISIS KENNA OFFERS FREE DOWNLOAD OF NEW SONG “TURN” IN SUPPORT OF SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: KILIMANJARO
(13,640 Ft, Mt Kilimanjaro ) – The last two days, Kenna, Grammy-nominated musician, philanthropist, “actionist” and mastermind behind SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro, began the week long trek, on Thursday, January 7, up Kilimanjaro joined by Emile Hirsch, Jessica Biel, Lupe Fiasco, Isabel Lucas, Santigold as well as many of the world’s brightest minds and major cultural influencers (complete list below), for the ascent to raise awareness of the global clean water crisis. Since originally announcing SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro last year, the project has raised awareness of the global clean water crisis as well as funds on www.summitonthesummit.com for The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Water For People’s Playpump Technology. The expedition is also being documented and produced by Radical Media, Procter & Gamble Productions and Fury League Inc. for a documentary to run on MTV on March 14 at 9pm/8pm CST.
For Kenna, the vision behind SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro stems from his drive to create a greater good for our youth and has personal meaning as his father was deeply affected by water-borne illness as a child in Ethiopia and his uncle had passed away from a related illness’ as well. Kenna has inspired his influential friends to join the climb which include:
* Jessica Biel, Actress (upcoming Valentine’s Day and The A-Team) · Lupe Fiasco, Grammy-Nominated musician · Isabel Lucas, Actress (Transformers 2) · Santigold, Musician · Emile Hirsch, Actor (Into the Wild and Milk) · Alexandra Cousteau, National Geographic Emerging Explorer and grand-daughter of famed explorer and filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau · Elizabeth Gore, Executive Director for Global Partnerships for the United Nations Foundation · Simon Isaacs, International Development and Water Expert · Michael Muller, Award Winning Photographer Michael Muller · Jimmy Chin, Award Winning Photographer · Kick Kennedy, Environmental Activist and Granddaughter of Robert Kennedy · Bernise Ang, Social Entrepreneur and Recipient of the YouthActionNet Award & Fellowship from the International Youth Foundation · Dr. Greg Allgood, Director of the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program at Procter & Gamble · Melissa Arnot, Mountaineering Expert · Jason Walsh, Renowned Trainer and Movement Specialist Participants of the SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro team have been blogging and discussing the issue of water alongside educators who are leaders at the forefront of global issues. As a team they have been learning of solutions to the problem, discussing how to improve social awareness and embracing the idea that they are now the example for showing ways to take action and give back to those with little or nothing.
Supporters can follow the action and interact with the climbers through the SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro website (http://www.summitonthesummit.com) which is being updated daily with additional communication through Facebook, Twitter (@sotsk) and a dedicated climber blog (http://www.sotsk.tumblr.com). Visitors can also get a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation and training that went into the climb from a series of web videos, keep track of climbers’ progress on the mountain with the help of GPS trackers, plus stay informed and interact throughout the climb. Those who wish to contribute to the cause may sponsor a foot on the site or purchase products with proceeds going towards the cause.
In addition to HP, the official technology partner, PU¯R Water Filtration, providing financial support and water filtration solutions, and First Ascent by Eddie Bauer, outfitting the entire climb, Microsoft has joined SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT as the official Expedition Software of SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro, joining in support of raising awareness of the global clean water crisis. The base camp will be outfitted with the high-powered HP TouchSmart PC featuring Windows 7 touch enabled software to help track each climber’s progress, monitor weather conditions and capture every aspect of the climb. All funds raised by SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro will be managed and distributed through the United Nations Foundation, the project’s charitable advisors.
Kenna has also just released a new track titled “Turn” that is available for download, free for a limited time at http://www.myspace.com/Kenna
“TURN is a song about journeys in life and the need to make decisions to change, even when everything seems like it’s going well. Take a risk on doing something great, even if you leave behind something comfortable” says Kenna about his new song. In exchange for the free download, listeners are asked to help support SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro by making a donation to sponsor a foot of the climb at http://www.summitonthesummit.com. The 19,340 foot tall website lets you follow the SOTS:K climbers every step of the way via photos, videos, and tweets straight from the mountain.