Rappellers face ‘crazy fear,’ raise money to help QC kids

Dan Kuenzi says he has a “crazy fear” of heights. But on Friday, Aug, 26, he faced that fear as he rappelled from the top of the Hotel Blackhawk in downtown Davenport, to help young people across the Quad Cities region. Mr. Kuenzi was one of the Edgers, as they are known, who raised money […]

Dan Kuenzi says he has a “crazy fear” of heights. But on Friday, Aug, 26, he faced that fear as he rappelled from the top of the Hotel Blackhawk in downtown Davenport, to help young people across the Quad Cities region. Mr. Kuenzi was one of the Edgers, as they are known, who raised money for the annual “Over the Edge” fundraiser to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley (BBBSMV). He was among 98 Edgers who earned the right through fundraising efforts to rappel down 11 stories, or 140 feet, from the north side of the Blackhawk on Friday and Saturday. (To go Over The Edge, volunteers had to raise at least $1,000 each.) As of this morning, Aug. 29, a total of $160,519 has been raised in the fifth annual fundraiser event for BBBSMV. More than $625,000 has been raised collectively in the past four years.

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The organization serves more than 600 children a year in the area, matching each child who is facing some kind of adversity with an adult mentor. The group seeks to change the lives of children for the better, according to the nonprofit’s website. “Over the Edge” was presented by Active Endeavors, Bank of America and Estes Construction. Over the Edge Global is an international company that provides the expertise and equipment to run repelling events for nonprofits in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. “They have raised a crazy amount of money, and asking for money from people isn’t an easy thing,” Kayla Kiesey, BBBSMV’s director of events and community partnership, said of the volunteers. She added that all the Edger showed “a lot of courage” going through the process of raising money and rappelling from the hotel. One of the first people to make the climb down was Kristin Stegall, an employee of Davenport-based Estes. After making a successful trip down the hotel, hugging her family members and returning her rappelling gear, Ms. Stegall said she was happy she took the adventure and helped Big Brothers Big Sisters. “It was super fun. I would do it again,” she added. Ms. Stegall’s Friday night adventure began on the 11th floor of the hotel. That was where the Edgers got their rappelling gear and went through a series of training and safety lessons before going over the edge. Some of the safety checklist items included: hair tied back, harness buckled, all carabiners locked, friction carabiner on right side metal ring, gloves on and helmet buckled, and descender attached properly. Randy Stocker, an Over the Edge safety crew member, was also reminding the Edgers to empty their pockets. One of the big safety concerns is items falling out of pockets during the rappel and hitting people on the ground.  After explaining the safety guidelines and training, he ended the talk with the encouraging statement: “Then it’s just a nice easy walk down the building.” Mr. Stocker said his favorite part of the job is getting people to face their fears and take on what they might consider a crazy adventure. “When people do this, this might be the craziest thing they’ve ever done. I really enjoy making that happen for them,” he added. In addition to a safety and training crew, the event brings in numerous local volunteers who get the Edgers ready to go over the edge. One of those volunteers, Kerra Daley, of Davenport, was on the hotel roof, encouraging people who were getting ready to rappel. “If I can do it, you can do it,” she told one rappeler who appeared to be having second thoughts. She added that her favorite part of the day is getting people helping the “edgers” make the big trek. “It’s awesome seeing people who are terrified of going over the edge and talking them into doing it,” Ms. Daley added. The Davenport woman said she also enjoys volunteering because she is a big believer in the work being done by Big Brothers Big Sisters. “I always tell people if you don’t care about your community, nobody else will,” she said. In addition to getting encouragement from staff and volunteers, there were plenty of hand-drawn signs of encouragement decorating the 11th floor and even the hotel elevators. The signs had messages such as “You can do it” and “You rock at rappelling” with a drawing of the hotel and a person rappelling down the side. Mr. Kuenzi, also an employee of Estes, was also one of the first rappellers down the hotel on Friday afternoon. The volunteer, who said he has that “crazy fear” of heights, yelled out “I did it!” after getting to the ground. “I’m kind of proud I did it. … It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” he added.