by
(This article, originally posted March 28, is updated.)
Dozens of people with steely nerves will have a distinctive, memorable Detroit thrill at the end of this week. They'll clamber down the 25-floor First National Building from a rooftop deck to Cadillac Square, 340 feet below.
Participants have donated or raised at least $1,000 for a Beaumont Hospital surgeon's foundation.
His foundation supports earthquake relief, education and public health programs in remote Himalayan villages, as well as American Promise Schools' college prep and scholarship programs for underserved Detroit students.The adrenalin-pumping reward is offered for a second straight year by the Detroit2Nepal Foundation, a nonprofit called D2N for short. It was set up in 2010 by Dr. Richard Keidan, a hiker and humanitarian who who has visited Nepal more than 20 times since the early 1980s.
Last year's fund-raiser raised $240,000, according to the event website, set up by Over the Edge, an company that manages rappelling events for nonprofits nationally and in Canada.
The 2015 Detroit debut at the same Albert Kahn-designed officer tower opposite Campus Martius, came just two weeks after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck northwest of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city. The already planned Detroit event gained urgency and attention.
Bedrock Real Estate Service, the high-rise's landlord, and Quicken Loans work with the doctor's D2N charity as presenting sponsors.
An ecstatic participant last May. (Photo by Over the Edge)
"This is by far one of the most exciting and unique uses for one of our properties that we’ve ever seen," Jim Ketai, Bedrock CEO and managing partner, told Rusty Young of the Hell Yeah Detroit blog last year. “We’re proud to be part of this event supporting two great causes."
"It's quite a spectacle," Dr. Keidan says in the video above.
The heart-pumping adventure is open to anyone weighing between 100 and 300 pounds. Rapellers under age 18 need a parent's permission signature.
Experience isn't needed. Over the Edge provides a helmet, safety harness, gloves, training and radio coaching during the descent, as well as souvenir photos (see gallery below).
Participants can wear costumes, Go Pro helmet cameras and bring a cheering section. Guests and any qualifying fundraisers preferring to stay grounded can watch from an enclosed area at the base of the rappel ropes with seating, standing and a refreshment tent.
Action begins May 5 for invited VIPs, followed by a main public day May 5 and a family day May 7 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.
More than 110 individuals, including Dr. Kaidan, and 57 teams have signed up. One rappel spot is provided for each $1,000 raised by a team.
How to participate
- Register here.
- Donate here to a team or individual.
- Support the foundation via PayPal here.
Dr. Richard Keidan in Nepal three years ago.
Gifts are split equally between Nepal and Detroit support, unless specified.
The West Bloomfield resident behind the foundation graduated from the University of Michigan and later its medical school. His surgical residency in 1980 was at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital, where he returned in 1992 as a surgical oncologist. Additionally, he serves now as director of its melanoma clinic.
Dr. Keidan also is an assistant professor of surgery at Wayne State Medical School and associate professor of surgery at Oakland University's School of Medicine. He's director of Beaumont's Melanoma Clinic.
These 11 images of rapellers last May are from Over the Edge Detroit's Flickr and Facebook pages:
