By Erik Harris, sports editor
TRUSSVILLE — Longtime Trussville resident Jan Belcher is embarking on a special journey this spring.
For the sixth time, Belcher has accepted a challenge – the Trailblaze Challenge, which serves as an endurance hiking event hosted by Make-A-Wish Alabama. She will hike 26.3 miles on the Pinhoti Trail in one day, all while raising money to fund life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses in Alabama.
“I have done this every year since it has been in Alabama because I fell in love with the mission of Make-A-Wish,” said Belcher. “I have seen the impact of a wish.”
Belcher, an RN and BSN, has called Trussville home for the past 33 years. She says she first got involved after seeing a Trailblaze Challenge billboard. Now, amid a pandemic, she believes it’s more important than ever to help.
“Make-A-Wish Alabama is a local organization that serves the children of Alabama,” said Belcher. “Wishes did not wait during the pandemic. Now more than ever these children with critical illnesses need to feel the love, hope, and joy of a Wish. The Wish impacts not just the child but the family as well. Many times it extends out to the community as well.”
She is a member of Trussville First United Methodist Church and is a former member of the Trussville Chamber of Commerce.