A team of cyclists participating in Journey of Hope, presented by KRG Capital, will kick-off an eight-week, 4,000-mile cycling event across the country to raise funds and awareness for people with disabilities on Sunday, June 10. The team will be having a practice ride at 7:30am. Later that day the team will arrive at Queen Mary for their kick-off dinner at 6:00pm and soon begin their 75-mile-a-day ride to the nation’s capital.
The team will begin with a Friendship Visit on Friday, June 8th with AbilityFirst. AbilityFirst offers a broad range of programs and services to help children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities realize their full potential throughout their lives.
Cal Berkley and Asuza residents Celement Tam and David Zhang will both be cyclists in the event. Cal State Long Beach students Cesar Roldan of Pico Rivera and Ben Davidson of Lakewood; UCLA students Michael Borger, of Simi Valley, and Ralph Guerrero, of Sunnyvale, will all be cycling as well. San Francisco resident, William Aspelin, and San Diego resident Tyler Swob, round out the cycling team.
For the team, the real journey will not be on a bike, but spending time with the people for whom they are riding. The Journey of Hope team members will have spent every afternoon with people with disabilities in many different community events and activities. These men are striving for community inclusion of people with disabilities and are helping to break the barriers of society that keep people of all abilities from living life to the fullest.
Journey of Hope is a program of Push America, the national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, which raises funds and awareness for people with disabilities. The Journey of Hope team consists of men from Pi Kappa Phi chapters across the country.
This year Push America celebrates its founding in 1977 with its 35th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the Journey of Hope. Push America’s goal has always been committing its members to enhance the lives of people with disabilities. With the combined efforts of sponsors and individual team members, this year’s Journey of Hope will raise more than $500,000 on behalf of people with disabilities. Push America and Pi Kappa Phi have fundraised over $15 million to date and continue to be on the cutting edge of the disability movement.
For more information on Push America or to set up and interview, please contact Andrew Bell at (704) 504-2400 ext. 160 or visit www.pushamerica.org.