Media

The Grand Forks Herald picked up our story and wrote an article in this Sunday's Outdoor section. The article is titled "UND students plan Mississippi canoe adventure for a cause" and can be found at the following web address:

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=35319&section=Columnists&columnist=Brad%20Dokken

or by visiting www.grandforksherald.com and going to the outdoors section and looking for the title.

Also, the Dakota Student, The University of North Dakota's student newspaper, just published an article on the event, read up using the following web address:

http://media.www.dakotastudent.com/media/storage/paper970/news/2007/04/24/News/Canoeing.The.Mississippi-2877166.shtml

While stopped in Baton Rouge, LA the crew was interviewed by a local news channel, Channel 2. The story aired at 5pm and again at 10pm.

While on the banks in New Orleans we were interviewed by The Times-Picayune, a Gretna based local newspaper:

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1187854606119530.xml&coll=1#continue

Just recently Edmund's hometown newspaper, the Courier News, covered the story:

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070905/NEWS01/709050328/1006

The Grand Forks Herald did a follow-up article and can be found at:

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=50476&section=Outdoors

Equipment Sponsors

The Original Bug Shirt Company makes shirts and pants that keep bugs from biting you. All along our trek we expect to have problems with mosquitoes and other pesky insects and are glad to have these shirts as a layer of protection. Learn more about the gear at www.bugshirt.com.





Along the way we will stay protected from the elements using Aloe Up products including sunscreen, lip balm, and moisturizers.

"Aloe Up Suncare Products are happy to donate products to your Paddling For a Purpose trip. We wish you the best of luck on your trip and look forward to reading about this journey through your website. On behalf of everyone here at Aloe Up, Good Luck!"

-Megan E. Braun

www.aloeup.com

We will be using Pres2Pure portable water filtration systems to filter our drinking water along the trip. Pres2Pure filtration systems are designed to clean 200 gallons of water, capable of up to 2 micron filtration eliminating organisms such as Giardia and Crytosporidium.

A little Note from the Crew:

Jeff "The Platypus" Petrie:

"I am a 25 year old student at the University of North Dakota graduating in May with a degree in Air Traffic Control. I am the captain of the UND Rugby Club, and I was in the Army National Guard for 8 years. My passion in life is traveling. I want to go everywhere and meet everybody. I realize that this is an impossible goal, but I will succeed in striving for it none the less. I believe that the only thing of value in this world is experience."

Edmund "The Electric Eel" Eilbacher:

"I am 23 years old, and a student at UND studying Commercial Helicopter Aviation with an interest in Entrepreneurship. My mission: to live forever. If not in body, then in the minds of others: through memories of the good times and the bad. I am implying the idea that individuals such as myself strive to live life and are not merely just alive. With this in mind I will look at every new experience as an opportunity to learn; even if, at the time the outcome of the experience was not what I had expected. I will respect other individual’s experiences as valuable and never attempt to infringe on the right to life of another. I will move forward into the future armed with the lessons I have learned with confidence and realize that I can. With honesty to myself and others, persistence, and an open mind I will promote the growth of ideas and I will not hesitate to act upon them. I will be a man of my own mind and continue to question the intentions of others. However I will grow old, for to be old you must have lived."

Planned Scheduled Stops

Our plan is as follows:

May 2007
22nd Leave Lake Itasca State Park, Minnesota at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.


June 2007
2nd Arrive in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
8th Arrive in Guttenberg, Iowa
11th Arrive in Burlington, Iowa
15th Arrive in St. Louis, Missouri
19th Arrive in Memphis, Tennessee
22nd Arrive in Arkansas City, Arkansas
27th Arrive in Vicksburg, Mississippi
30th Arrive in Natchez, Mississippi

July 2007
1st Arrive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
4th Arrive in New Orleans, Louisiana
6th Arrive at the Gulf of Mexico


***All dates are tentative and are subject to change due to weather and any other unforeseeable circumstances***

Your Donations at a Glance

Today we developed an outline of anticipated costs that the two of us will endure along the trip. Food, lifevests, mosquito repellent and camping equipment were just a few of the costs we factored in to the $1,750 total. We already have much of the needed camping equipment in our posession which is why the number stands so low.

We are currently working on having a canoe donated for the cause through local outdoors shops. Other supporters such as Red Bull are also being investigated. It is important to note that if we are unable to reach our goal of $5,000 we will donate 65% of the existing proceeds to UNICEF and allocate the remaining 35% to equipment costs.

Two Students, One Mission

On May 20th, I Edmund Eilbacher and Jeff Petrie, two UND students will be setting out on an adventure of a lifetime. Our plan is to canoe the entire 2,320 miles of the Mississippi from Lake Itasca, MN to the Gulf of Mexico.

Both avid outdoors-men, with a combination of military and Boyscout experience, we have partnered with the local UNICEF chapter in an effort to raise $5,000 from individuals and companies. The majority of the proceeds will be donated to UNICEF's water, environment, and sanitation program which improves access to safe water and sanitation and promotes hygiene awareness in developing countries.

We need your help in raising the $5,000!

Feel generous and contact either myself, Edmund Eilbacher, or Jeff Petrie:
email - paddling4apurpose@gmail.com
phone - 701-777-8455

We will continually update this site with information regarding our fundraising efforts, trip planning, and provide up-to-date entries while on the river.