Kansas City Native Returns Home to Take on Fight For Air Climb

The annual Kansas City Fight For Air Climb returns to One Kansas City Place on March 3rd. The climb, locally presented by Empower for the 8th year in a row, will raise funds for local lung health initiatives, education programs and lung disease research.

One member of Team Empower, Rachel McCaslin, will mark her 5th year of participating in the climb. Like many other participants, the purpose of the Fight For Air Climb resonates deeply with McCaslin. Her grandmother passed away from lung cancer in 2005 and her mother is currently living with COPD.

“When I first started doing these climbs, I didn’t realize the immense impact of the programs the climb funds,” said McCaslin. “I have a personal connection to the cause, and every year I participate in the climb I feel more passionate about speaking up about the importance of lung health.”

McCaslin currently lives in Omaha, Nebraska but travels back home to her hometown of Kansas City every year just for the climb. This year she gave herself the challenge of increasing her fundraising goal and is already close to reaching it. So far, Team Empower has raised more than $3,000 dollars for the cause this year, making them one of the top fundraising teams participating in the climb. Over the past 8 years, Empower has donated more than $182,000 through their sponsorship and team fundraising.

“Funding lung disease research is really important to me,” said McCaslin. “There is so much information available now that we didn’t have in the past. The importance of finding ways to bring relief to people like my mother, who are fighting for every breath, cannot be understated.”

Funds raised by the Fight For Air Climb will support more than 374,000 people in Kansas and more than 818,000 people in Missouri suffering from lung diseases. McCaslin and Team Empower are set to climb over 900 stairs at One Kansas City Place, and McCaslin is determined to make every step count.

“Climbing for those who can’t means everything to me,” said McCaslin.

Get involved and help the mission of American Lung Association. You can learn more about the Fight For Air Climb in Kansas City on March 3 at KCClimb.org.