“A few days before the Love Hope Strength trip to Mt. Fuji* was supposed to
begin, I got a call from Shannon Foley, the director of the foundation,
inviting me to join. I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to give
back to an incredible organization, but had no clue it would be as
emotional of a trip as it was. I had a great time getting to know these
amazing cancer survivors, families of cancer survivors, and the other
musicians on the trip – Mike Peters of the Alarm and Glenn Tilbrook of
Squeeze. We had a great time climbing Mt. Fuji, and even though my legs hurt
for days afterward, it was one of the most unbelievable experiences of my
life. I am so excited to stay involved with this organization and continue
to help them in the fight against cancer. Check out what they’re all about
here: https://lovehopestrength.org/ and then check out the slideshow I
put together of pictures from the trip. The song is from my new album GLOW
(out Tuesday, 10/5) and it’s called “Home”. Hope you enjoy!”
-Donavon, September 2010
*Mt Fuji Rocks was the Love Hope Strength’s latest musical journey, to the Japan’s Mount Fuji and “Land of the Rising Sun” featuring performances by team members Donavon Frankenreiter, Mike Peters, Glenn Tilbrook, Matt Grundy and Brien McVernon. 30 musicians, cancer survivors and supporters spent a year raising funds for Love Hope Strength culminating in a symbolic pilgrimage to the highest mountain (3,776 m, 12,388 ft) in Japan timed around the “Fire Festival”, the official closing ceremony of the hiking season. They did so in order to bring love, hope and strength to the world.
Funds raised from Mt Fuji Rocks are being used to support global cancer care and expand the global bone marrow testing campaign. Cancer is now the leading global killer and more and more, patients are finding bone marrow transplants to be their only hope at surviving numerous blood cancers including, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Multipe Myeloma and other diseases, such as, Sickle cell and Aplastic anemia. As our world becomes more diverse, so is the need for a multi-cultural database of willing bone marrow donors. By conducting saliva-based bone marrow drives, we are increasing the odds of survival for thousands of patients around the globe. Learn more about becoming a marrow donor.