Team Asha Beginners’ Hiking Program 2025

The season for Team Asha Beginners’ Hiking Program commences now! Instagram | Facebook | Email

  • Highlights of Team Asha Beginners' Hiking Program

    Unleash the adventure seeker inside you, push your boundaries and achieve something extraordinary.

  • Workshops and Information Sessions

    Sessions on everything from equipment and nutrition to navigation.

  • Volunteer driven

    The program is completely driven by volunteers who are passionate about the cause of Asha for Education. All our coords and mentors volunteer their time to make the program successful.

  • Support A great cause

    Team Asha athletes raise funds for Asha for Education, Silicon Valley chapter, which helps support education initiatives for underprivileged children in India.

Destination Mount Diablo, California

Ain’t you excited to explore high-altitude hiking and California’s breathtaking wilderness?

Join Team Asha Beginners’ Hiking Program to start your journey from couch to trails after the holiday season. Whether day hiking is on your bucket list or you’re simply craving sunshine, the Team Asha Beginners’ Hiking Program provides an endless opportunity to explore the scenic landscapes of the Bay Area. This is a platform to meet like-minded people who are tying their outdoor passion to a noble cause of educating underprivileged children in India.

This season, immerse yourself in Mount Diablo State Park’s breathtaking beauty, unleash your inner adventurer, and forge your own path to excitement with the thrill of hiking amidst the towering Mount Diablo.

Information Session

Join our upcoming 1-hour information session on January 17, 2025 at 7:30 pm PST to get the orientation of the details you need via zoom link

The length of Team Asha’s Beginners’ Hiking Program is 8 weeks. Our first hike starts on January 25, 2025. We meet weekly on scenic trails to prepare participants from all activity levels. On trails, our mentors will share their interesting backcountry experiences, gear information, and how hiking has become their lifestyle! At the end of training season, you will be well prepared for bagging Mount Diablo on March 15, 2025!

Welcome to be a member of the Team Asha Hiking community in the Bay Area and celebrate your achievement off the trail at the end-of-season party on March 30, 2025.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to embrace the call of the wild, push your limits, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Fundraising

Every endurance training program has a target fundraising requirement. Please attend the info session to find out more details. If you are worried about fundraising, we invite you to come to our info session and/or open hikes and talk to our coords and coaches.
All the money raised through this program gets distributed among 20+ NGOs that we work with across India.
Donors like you help us ensure that kids don’t just attend school and they actually learn. We support our project partners in India who have diverse education needs – it could be a supplementary school, school with special needs, vocational training classes or digital education.To give a brief idea of some of our projects:

To learn more about our projects and locations, please visit http://sv.ashanet.org/projects/.

Asha for Education is a 100% transparent and volunteer driven organization. Every single $ you raise is dispersed to our projects. All the coaches train athletes for no cost and in fact many of them fundraise just like any other athlete enrolled in our program.

In 2019, our Team Asha athletes raised ~600K. Asha for Education Silicon Valley chapter dispersed ~500K to 24 projects impacting the lives of 30,000+ children in India. Check out our 2019 annual report here.

  1. Start your fundraising early – this helps in reaching out to more people and raise way more than your minimum target.
  2. Most of the profit companies in the Bay Area do company matching. All your donations can be doubled by applying for company match. Check here if your company has a donation matching program.
  3. Every single hour you volunteer for ANY NGO can be used towards your fundraising through ‘volunteer hour grants’.
  4. Another great way to fundraise is to organize a lunch sale at your workplace or in your friends circle. You also get a chance to explain about various projects Asha supports. Read this article to see how a Alumni raised funds.
  5. Lose your inhibitions – you are asking people to donate for a great cause. It’s important to explain why you are training through Team Asha and how proud your donors should be because they are helping every child in leading a better life!
  6. If you are artsy & crafty, this will be an amazing way to show your talent. You can ask people to donate towards your FR for every item you sell.
  7. General donations to Asha for Education by the athlete in the same fiscal year can be accounted towards FR target. (donations to fundraising campaigns such as Work An Hour, Support A Child etc and events will not be considered).
  8. Tips from our Asha alumni.
    Be sure to attend our fundraising clinic to learn more!
I have never raised money for a cause. How do I raise 1000+ dollars?
This is a very valid concern that every new member of Team Asha has. We will help you with ideas, materials, fundraising clinics etc to help you with your fundraising. During every weekend training, your group captain will help you keep on track. Till date, more than 80% of our bikers have raised more than the minimum fundraising targets.
What happens if I am unable to meet my fundraising target?
Team Asha mentors and other Asha volunteers will work with you throughout the program and beyond to help you honor your pledge of raising the target amount. Please see this program as a means of supporting and encouraging the underprivileged children and not simply a training program. Without your fundraising efforts, it would be difficult for Asha to continue supporting these projects. We urge you to do your best to honor your commitment in helping these children. If in the end you still fail to reach the target then you are required to cover the balance by yourself.
Where do the funds I raise go?
Asha for Education is a 100% volunteer driven organization. Asha-SV has a list of projects we support every year. 100% of your donation goes towards the projects because our operating expenses will be covered by the registration fee you pay. If you want to donate to a particular project of your interest, please contact sv.projects@ashanet.org.

Timeline

  • Info session & Signup Sheet Open

    January 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM PST

  • Registrations Due

    Will be communicated via email

  • First Training Hike

    January 25, 2025

  • Fundraising Clinic

    February 1, 2025

  • Destination Mount Diablo

    March 15, 2025

  • End of Season Party

    March 30, 2025