In 2015 we hiked across England to raise money and awareness for the Institute for Humane Education (IHE). In 2017 we hiked across Scotland for the same wonderful organization. And now, after months of planning, we are excited to announce our plans for C2C4Compassion 2019: we are heading back to the UK to hike Coast to Coast across Wales! The Heimann family will be spending a couple of weeks next summer hiking 177 miles on Offa’s Dyke Path, a historic path along the Welsh/English border that has been listed among the top 50 hikes in the world.
This time we are thrilled to be raising money for and awareness about Farm Sanctuary, which has been near and dear to our hearts since the early stages of our shared journey. We visited Farm Sanctuary for its annual Hoedown weekend in August of 2001, shortly after returning from our African honeymoon. We learned how the intricacies and atrocities of factory farming directly relate to many other global human and environmental issues. We left the weekend determined to start our marriage with our lifestyle more aligned with our intrinsic beliefs and values. In short, we arrived at Farm Sanctuary as conscientious vegetarians and left as proud vegans. To say that Farm Sanctuary has left an indelible mark on our lives and the lives of our children, Olivia and Jonah, would be an understatement.
Pig love!
We are honored to know Farm Sanctuary president and co-founder Gene Baur, who has not only improved the lives of thousands of humans and millions of non-human animals but also been integral in the choices that we have made as partners, parents, and advocates. Gene brought us along when he spoke to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture about the cruel conditions of animals on factory farms and guided me toward the Institute for Humane Education (IHE).
Gene with one of his rescued cows.
The choices we make and the lives we lead have certainly been powerfully influenced by Gene and Farm Sanctuary. So it is with great pride and happiness that we dedicate our 2019 C2C4Compassion hike to Farm Sanctuary. We are incredibly grateful to all of you who have supported our past two hikes, each of which raised about $25,000 for IHE. We would love to far surpass those lofty amounts with this hike and hope you will continue to support us with this trek for Farm Sanctuary. As with the past two hikes, we are completely self-funding the trip so 100% of your tax-deductible donation will benefit Farm Sanctuary’s rehabilitation, education, and advocacy programs for animals.
Lara and I strongly believe in the inherent goodness of the diverse people that populate our planet. And we honor that two people can have opposing views and still both be good people. So you don’t have to be vegan or even vegetarian to support our hike and charity. All you need to be is someone who believes that the world would be a better place if there were less suffering and more compassion. If you fit in that category, we hope you will consider supporting our charity.
You can follow our journey preparing for and completing the hike through our blog and/or on our Facebook page, and you can find out more information about our family, the trail, and our cause – Farm Sanctuary – on our website: www.c2c4compassion.com