Status 501c3

After a two-year approval process, the Earl Shaffer Foundation was officially granted 501(c)3 tax-exempt status by the IRS. Any donation made to the Foundation is now tax-deductible for the donor. The effective date of the 501(c)3 status is April 17, 2002.

Tributes to Earl Performed at 2004 Trail Days and ALDHA Gathering

The Foundation presented a multimedia tribute to Earl on May 16, 2004 in the Rock Auditorium at the annual Trail Days festival in Damascus, Virginia. Takoma Tedd gave a live performance of all the songs from his new CD based on Earl's poetry, "Songs of the Blue Ridge Runner," along with his original song lauding Earl, "Crazy One." A synchronized Appalachian Trail slideshow compiled by Foundation Board member Chris "Spur" Bagby added visual imagery to the musical performance. As part of the tribute, Foundation Chairman Dave Donaldson presented a brass plaque and framed images of Earl for display in The Place, the popular hiker hostel located in Damascus.

On October 8, 2004, a slightly shorter version of the same multimedia tribute was presented to a crowd of over 400 hiking enthusiasts during the annual ALDHA Gathering's Friday evening program.

Foundation Publishes Music CD featuring Earl's Poetry

Part of the Earl Shaffer Foundation's mission is to place into publication the vast collection of poetry which Earl wrote over the course of his life. As a novel way to help accomplish this, Foundation member "Takoma Tedd" Lester has created "Songs of the Blue Ridge Runner," a lively album of songs with lyrics based on several of Earl's poems, and the Foundation recently published it as a CD. Proceeds from its sales will benefit hiking clubs and other causes which were important to Earl.