country with altruistic goal
While Habitat for Humanity relies on the handiwork of many individuals, it is also being supported by the footwork of 60 students, most of them from Yale, who are on a cross-country bike tour on behalf of the organization.
Now in its sixth year, the Habitat Bicycle Challenge (HBC) was the brainchild of a Yale student who conceived of it while riding solo from New Haven to Habitat headquarters in Georgia.
The annual nine-week bike-a-thon, which raises awareness as well as money for the nonprofit organization, was officially launched in 1995 when a group of Yale students took off from Washington, D.C. for a 4,000-mile journey to San Francisco.
The program was so popular that in 1998 a second route was added. Now, two groups of cyclists leave from New Haven -- one heading to San Francisco and the other north to Seattle, Washington.
Every HBC rider has to generate a certain amount of money in pledges in order to take part, and that money goes toward building Habitat homes. Students seek pledges in a variety of ways, including getting corporate sponsorship, soliciting friends and relatives, and holding fundraisers. In 1995, the minimum pledge needed was $2,500; now it is $3,500. This year HBC has raised about $200,000, which will go to Habitat chapters in New Haven and to chapters throughout the world that are part of the New Haven Sister Cities program.
The cross-country tour also offers participants an opportunity to broaden Habitat's network of supporters. The cyclists are lodged and fed by community sponsors at the roughly 60 overnight stops they make on the journey. Often they take advantage of the layover to present the promotional slide-show they carry with them, and frequently pitch in to help on a local Habitat project on their weekly day of rest.
The northern route riders expect to have their grand-finale rendezvous at the Space Needle in Seattle on Aug. 4, around 12:30 p.m. At about the same time, their colleagues to the south will cross the Golden Gate Bridge for a triumphal rally in San Francisco. For more information, call 1-800-HABITAT, ext. 2784.
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