On August 28, MaryBeth Eldred will take on one of the greatest athletic challenges she has attempted – rappelling 335 feet down Dominion Energy’s 600 Canal Place skyscraper to commemorate her seventieth birthday and raise money for the Richmond SPCA.
“What better way to celebrate my seventieth and to bring much needed attention to the Richmond SPCA and also raise money for the organization,” she says.
Eldred enjoys new adventures. She’s been scuba diving in North Carolina and zip lining in Florida. “I used to race sailboats in Massachusetts, and I played tennis,” she says. “I’m an active person. I still like to hang glide and bungee jump.”
Her love of animals grew when she started working with the kennel at an emergency animal hospital. “All the dogs that I have came from animal hospitals,” says Eldred, adding that her dog Apple Jack or AJ for short is a cattle dog mix that had been hit by a car. “Animal control brought her in with a broken pelvis.”
Giving back to the Richmond SPCA is important to Eldred. “The Richmond SPCA offers so much beyond adoptions – medical treatment, training classes, advice, and more,” she says. “They want you to be the forever home for an animal.”
Taking a Leap of Faith
Gray Miller, manager of donor engagement at the Richmond SPCA, has firsthand experience with rappelling off a building. She conquered her fears when she successfully rappelled from the Sun Trust building more than ten years ago to raise money for another organization.
“The scariest moment is when everything in your body and mind is telling you not to go over the edge but you know you need to do it because it’s for a good cause,” she says. “Now every time I pass that building, I know I have conquered it.”
Richmond SPCA chose the Dominion Energy building this year because it’s “such a beautiful addition to the Richmond skyline,” she says. “It has a wonderful view of the James River.”
The reflective nature of the building will give people rappelling a mirror image of themselves as well as a breathtaking view.
Richmond SPCA is working with the national company Over The Edge for the event. Event participants will have to rappel down 335 feet to the ground. They are allowed to wear costumes – everything but capes, which are not allowed for safety reasons. “We have seen tutus and Spiderman outfits,” Miller says.
Each participant will be outfitted with a harness and trained on technique. During training they will repel on the roof to get a feel for the equipment. Over The Edge will attach two ropes to the building that participants will rappel down.
“After they feel they are ready to go, they will go up a ladder on the catwalk, and then, over they go,” Miller says, adding that each rappel takes about 15 minutes.
As of the writing of this story, the number of people rappelling totaled 76 and the organization has raised more than $93,000.
VIP’s rappelling the building include Nutzy the Flying Squirrel (without his cape).
“A number of people that work in the building are rappelling,” Miller says. “We are so thrilled that so many people have wanted to support our pets by doing this lifesaving and incredible adventure to help animals in need.”
Getting Ready for the View
Meanwhile, Eldred isn’t stressing over this high-in-the-sky adventure but she is trying to train for the event.
“I’m doing yoga and I’m walking and doing a little bit of strength training,” she says. “I’m also doing the gym’s weight room machines.”
She recalls that when she first heard about the event it was “like a light went off in my heart,” she says. “I said, ‘Oh man, I have to do this.’ I think it’s also good to try new things. As women, we have the freedom do that. We are the only ones to put restrictions on ourselves. I’m very much looking forward to doing this.”
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Learn more about the work of the Richmond SPCA and support their organization.
