Californian Lesbian activist Jody Cole took on Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa earlier this year as a fundraiser for the LGBT lobbying group Equality California (EQCA). Cole has served on the board for six years and served as president of the Equality California Institute's board for two years. She will leave the board at the end of 2011 as EQCA limits board members to serving only two terms.

Cole was moved to action following the much-publicised suicides of several young people last year due to homophobic bullying. She decided to raise $1 for every foot she climbed on Kilimanjaro.

"It hit me in the gut," Cole told the Bay Area Reporter. "[Children] are not supposed to be killing themselves. Our work should be way ahead of this by now."

By the time Cole reached the peak of Africa's highest mountain at 5895 meters above sea level, on Saturday 15 January, she had raised nearly US$14,000. "Climbing the mountain was fucking hard and I knew it was going to be hard but I knew there was no way the pain I felt climbing that mountain was anywhere near the pain these kids felt to turn to suicide," said Cole.

At the summit, Cole issued a video message to express her appreciation for all those who participated in the fundraiser (www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXF43eAgpYE).

The money raised by the climb will fund EQCA's lobbying to pass legislation requiring schools to include LGBT people and issues in their curricula.

Cole and her wife, Katherine, have been together nine years and married twice, once in 2004 and again in 2008 after the marriage laws had been overturned and then reinstated. They don't have any children of their own.