Members of the 2023 MUN in Motion team (from left): James Millan, Evan Simpson, Margot Brown, Robert Sexty, Shelly Birnie-Lefcovitch, and Richard Ellis.Supplied
The Organizer: Evan Simpson
The pitch: Helping to raise $73,000 and climbing
The cause: Enhancing the East Coast Trail
Evan Simpson had always enjoyed the outdoors and he spent countless hours walking along the Bruce Trail during his time as a professor of philosophy at McMaster University in Hamilton.
When Dr. Simpson moved to St. John’s roughly 20 years ago to take up the post of vice-president academic at Memorial University, he quickly discovered the East Coast Trail and became an ardent enthusiast. The trail stretches more than 300 kilometres along the Avalon Peninsula and features soaring cliffs, deep fjords, sea bird colonies, archeological digs and a 50-metre suspension bridge.
“It’s pretty rough in some places but there’s something on the trail for everybody,” said Dr. Simpson, 83, who retired as vice-president more than 10 years ago but remains active on campus. “The trail is also very close to where at least half the population of Newfoundland live.”
Dr. Simpson’s university duties left him with less time to enjoy the trail but he felt compelled to do something to contribute to its upkeep. “I wanted to acknowledge my debt to the trail by helping to repay it in some way,” he said.
He started a fundraising drive and recruited others from the university. Together they organized the Trail Raiser Community Hike an annual fundraiser that attracts around 300 hikers, runners and walkers. This year’s hike on June 3 raised around $105,000. Since the event started in 2017, Dr. Simpson’s team – MUN in Motion – has raised more than $73,000 in total. The money goes toward maintenance and expansion of the trail and helps leverage grants from various levels of government.
Dr. Simpson still hikes the trail whenever he can. He’s also taken great satisfaction in knowing that his fundraising efforts have helped bring the university closer to the community. And he’s particularly enjoyed making a “contribution to an entity that I think is inherently valuable.”