Quinn's AfricaBike-a-Thon raises $1,500
Another great way to support the AfricaBike project from another Kona fan....This report from The Islands Sounder:
Quinn Freedman, age 10 pedaled hard through rising head winds as he approached Agate Beach on South Lopez Island. The osprey danced in the gusts above his head, the treetops swayed and the whitecaps sprayed, but this wasn't just another pleasure ride, and Quinn had four more miles to go.
On Sunday, November 11, Quinn realized his goal of pulling off a solo fundraiser to adopt bikes for rural healthcare workers in Africa. Back before Halloween, Quinn was perusing the website of his favorite bike company, when something unexpected caught his eye. Kona Bikes had specially designed a bike the "Africa bike" to allow rural African healthcare workers to more easily access their geographically scattered patient population.
Kona was asking readers to donate funds to purchase these low cost, high quality bikes. Quinn was stirred by the opportunity but didn't have money to donate.
Then an idea hit him: A Bike-a-thon! He could ask friends and family to pledge money for each mile he rode. Then send these dollars on to adopt a bike. Initially he hoped to raise enough to buy a whole bike, $100.
Two things combined to help Quinn far exceed this worthy goal.
First was the generosity of his supporters. He found thirty enthusiastic friends, mostly Orcas' residents who each pledged between $.25 and $10/mile.
Second was Quinn's own determination. His personal longest ride to date had been fifteen miles. But on this day, despite some unfavorable conditions, he rode twenty-five and a quarter miles.
"I felt really proud," said Quinn after the ride. "I raised $1,525. That will be enough to adopt more than fifteen bikes. I know this will make a big difference to a lot of people."
Towards the end of the ride while taking a breather on Agate Beach after already exceeding his 20 mile goal, and feeling pretty done, Quinn ran into an unexpected Orcas Island friend, Michael Budnick who, when hearing about the ride, made a spontaneous cash donation and inspired Quinn to ride an extra four miles. This was the icing on the cake and allowed for the purchase of the fifteenth Africa bike.
Each of these bikes will proudly bear a Wildlife Cycle sticker. Orcas Island's own bike shop, Wildlife Cycles was one of Quinn's sponsors, and has enthusiastically supported this project. "Nick helped me tune up my bike to get it ready for the ride," said Quinn.Kona's Adopt-A-Bike program sends bikes to Ghana, Namibia and Senegal. Healthcare workers will use the bikes to deliver medicine and services to remote rural villages. HIV/AIDS patients are the particular focus of these relief efforts.
Congrats, Quinn. Let's see about making this an annual affair.
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