Body Bliss, a natural product manufacturer, recently sponsored Kiliclimb 2016, during which a group of 18 women climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. The climb was inspired by the charity No Barriers USA, which is a nonprofit organization that empowers people of all walks of life and abilities to overcome obstacles and live a life of purpose. Kilimanjaro is the world’s highest freestanding mountain at 19,341 feet, and the group aimed to show the world what happens when women support each other to break down barriers and overcome life’s challenges. “Body Bliss was proud to sponsor KiliClimb 2016,” says CEO Nick James. “Our team was inspired by this group of women as they pushed themselves to their limits. These women chose to climb a mountain because it’s the perfect metaphor for the challenges that women face in society. It is powerful that these women banded together to break through their barriers.”
The group organizers for the climb were Heather Thomson, TV personality and fashion designer and Remembrance (Memmy) Staber, a personal trainer and ambassador for No Barriers. Jeff Evans, Discovery Channel star and guide for the first blind man to summit Mount Everest, led the group of 18 women including Yvonne Heib, a retired military veteran; Angie Shireman, a mastectomy and brain surgery survivor; Amilya Antonetti, entrepreneur and CEO; Edie Magnus, a journalist and professor at Mercy College, and Julie Crisman, hiker and media consultant. Body Bliss provided a variety of therapeutic aromatherapy products to offer relief for all the hikers. “In the long climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro you’re always looking for moments of sweet relief,” says Magnus. “Thank goodness for Body Bliss. In a journey of many firsts, they were a great discovery.”
At the end of their climb, the women thanked the local community who helped them reach their goal by donating supplies to the Tanzanian porters and their families. “It was a metaphysical and incredible experience on the mountain, and I came down with a lot of clarity that I did not expect to have,” says Thomson. “The experience was brave, real, and tangible. It makes sense that the spa industry resonated with our quest. The need to practice self-care, de-stress, and unplug is universal, and one of spa’s core messages.”