Tribal member Jared Ripley participating in Stair Climb fundraiser

Tribal member Jared Ripley will climb 69 flights of stairs - 1,311 steps in all - dressed in heavy firefighting gear and carrying a self-contained breathing apparatus during the Scott Firefighter Stair Climb on Sunday, March 11.

The event, being held at the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

And for Ripley, 20, it also will honor Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr., who has been on medical leave recently as he fights a recurrence of leukemia.

"While this will be an incredibly tough climb, the real challenge is to help fight blood cancers," Ripley said in a fundraising letter sent to friends and family.

The Stair Climb will require Ripley to climb 788 feet in vertical elevation one step at a time while wearing heavy firefighting turnouts.

To support Ripley, go to www.firefighterstairclimb.org and click on the donate button, type in Ripley's name and then donate.

"Although it will be challenging, it pales in comparison to what blood cancer patients must go through," Ripley said.

Ripley is the son of Tribal member Denise Harvey and a 2009 graduate of Tualatin High School. He graduated from Fire Suppression Program at Chemeketa Community College in 2011 and is a volunteer firefighter for Marion County Fire District.

The district's 17-member team hopes to raise $20,000. As of late February, more than $6,500 had been pledged to team members.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest volunteer health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. Since its founding in 1949, it has invested more than $550 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers.