Grafton Women Hiking to Help

When Rosa Licea-Mailloux dons her hiking gear for the three-day Wilderness Heals fundraiser July 15-17 in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, she will be traipsing up and down the trails for a reason far more meaningful than accomplishing that arduous task. Licea-Mailloux will be raising money on behalf of the Elizabeth Stone House, the Roxbury-based non-profit helps homeless and at-risk survivors of domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and other forms of trauma achieve greater safety and stability.

The North Grafton resident’s involvement with the house dates back about a half dozen years when her employer, Natixis Global Asset Management of Boston, became a lead sponsor of Wilderness Heals. More than 50 women are participating this year; each is required to raise a minimum of $1,500.

Licea-Mailloux said the hike is very open and welcoming.

“It’s great to know that you are doing something (hiking) for yourself and for me hiking was taking myself out of my comfort zone,” she said. “But the great thing is we are benefitting other people”

Licea-Mailloux said another benefit of the hike is the relationships she has made with fellow employees, participants and Stone House staff. “I have become closer friends with the women who are from my company who hike and the staff at the Stone House are like family to me,” she said.

Fortunately, Licea-Mailloux does not have a personal experience with domestic violence, though she added that her grandfather abused her grandmother and her sister-in-law’s sister was in an abusive relationship. As a woman of Mexican-American descent, Licea-Mailloux added that she was saddened by the disproportionate percentage of Latinas who have been victims of domestic violence.

As the hike approaches, Licea-Mailloux said she is not getting anxious about it. She said it’s always hard to be away from her children for a couple of nights; however one thing she is looking forward to is not having to think about work for a couple of days. Licea-Mailloux is a senior vice president/associate general counsel of Natixis, a firm that has been recognized by the Boston Business Journal as the most generous firm in the area the past four years.

“The minute I hit the mountains I can’t worry about being disconnected from e-mails and electronics,” Licea-Mailloux said, adding that aspect is quite beautiful.”

For more information about Wilderness Heals or to make a donation, visit www.wildernessheals.elizabethstone.org.