An adventurer from Fredericton, N.B., reached the South Pole on Monday, Jan. 12, after braving the brutal cold to raise awareness and money for mental health.
On Dec. 31, 2019, Brian Jones set out to trek across Antarctica, making a 150-kilometre hike to the South Pole.
“I’ll never be more isolated than I am there,” Jones, a local investment adviser, told Global News in December, 2019.
He said he was motivated to do the gruelling trip after the shootings in Moncton and Fredericton and the problem of child suicide.
The funds Jones raises will benefit the Chalmers Foundation, which helps purchase medical equipment and support community health care services in Fredericton.
“There’s a lot of people on the ground working day in and day out every day every week in addictions and mental health in greater Fredericton and it’s to bring awareness to all the work they do with our first responders and the hospital to help people get better,” said Gilles Allain, the executive director of the Chalmers Foundation.
The foundation will use the money to install emergency room isolation pods at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.
Jones is a well-known fundraiser in Fredericton, and it’s estimated that since 2006 he’s raised more than $1 million for local charities.
Having reached the South Pole, he plans to ski across Antarctica for a couple of weeks before climbing Mount Vinson — the continent’s highest peak.
— With files from Alexander Quon and Megan Yamoah
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