University of Wyoming student and Pi Kappa Phi fraternity member Alex Brink will make a cross-country cycling trek in June 2013 to raise money for people with disabilities.
Brink’s trip will be part of Pi Kappa Phi’s Journey of Hope , where members of the fraternity from across the country cycle together to Washington, D.C. The cycling trip is an effort to raise money for Push America, which was started by a former executive director of Pi Kappa Phi. The purpose of the organization is to serve people with disabilities and to help construct facilities that serve people with disabilities, according to www.pushamerica.org.
In June, three separate groups of Pi Kappa Phi members will take part in the Journey of Hope with groups leaving from Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. All the groups will end in Washington, D.C. When the trek ends, there will be a celebration with guest speakers who will present on the importance of philanthropic service.
Participants will be making a variety of stops along the way. “We’re going to visit the capitol city of each state that we go through. We’re also going to do friendship visits at special needs camps along the way,” Brink said.
The goal for Journey of Hope 2013 is to raise $650,000, and $57,861 has already been raised, according to www.pushamerica.org. Brink’s personal goal is $10,000.
“We’re really hoping to get more corporate sponsorships to get larger donations,” Brink said. “But even $50 or $100 could make a difference. If we get a single donation of $1,000 or more, then we give that to a special needs camp to build a structure for the kids who go to the camp.”
One year, the organization was able build a structure for one of the camps that the kids could climb up regardless of their disabilities. The structure also allowed the kids to zip line across the lake.
Brink will be taking part in the cycling aspect, but he said people can participate without cycling by being crew members. The crew members ride along in vans and help if the cyclists have flat tires and also set up the visits to the camps.
Participants will be riding an average of 75 miles a day, but could travel up to as much as 140 miles a day, Brink said. He has been training regularly in order to make the distance on the bike.
“I’m pretty new to cycling, so I’ve been training most of the summer,” Brink said. “I’ve never done something like this.”
Even though Brink recognizes that there will be some difficulties with training in the winter, he is still looking forward to participating in the Journey of Hope.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to do this,” Brink said. “It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
