What have you signed up to do this time?

I love to cycle. It's what brought me to my first Fuller Center Ride. But after my first ride I realized this was about much more than cycling. It's about helping people in need.

At a time when many safety nets are being dismantled, the Fuller Center provides a lifeboat for those needing a hand up. The Fuller Center doesn't just build homes, they provide hope to families in need of decent, affordable housing. This is my 8th Fuller Center Ride and I have seen first hand what this hope looks like. 

Sometimes it's an aging person who needs help with home upkeep. They can't afford to sell their home and move somewhere else and keeping their home is their only option. 

In other situations, it's a handicapped person in need of a wheelchair ramp so they have the freedom to leave their home.

When disasters strike (like the Kentucky tornado several years ago or the North Carolina floods from last year, or hurricanes along the Gulf Coast), Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders help folks who can't afford to hire contractors or who have inadequate insurance to cover repair costs rebuild their lives.

In other countries, the FC builds homes so that families have a safe place to come home to each day. This helps provide stability for the children attending school.

All this is done on terms that the homeowner can afford. 

All money raised from this ride goes directly to Fuller Center projects. None of it is used to support the ride. Your donation can help make a difference in someone's life.

I will match all donations and all donations I receive will go towards the rebuilding effort in Western North Carolina.

Why are you doing it?

I’m not (totally) nuts, but I do love a good challenge and making a difference, and I’m looking forward to forming a strong community of volunteers on bikes as we go.

What’s the Fuller Center?

A 501(c)(3) non-profit Christian organization that believes everyone in the world deserves the opportunity to have a decent home in which to live. Millard and Linda Fuller were self-made millionaires who gave away their fortune in 1969 to follow God's leading. They lived the rest of their lives on humble means and dedicated themselves to providing decent housing to over a million people in 100 countries around the world, culminating in their founding of the Fuller Center in 2005.

Ok, but what does the Fuller Center do?

It builds and repairs homes using volunteers in partnership with families, who help with the work and pay it forward using a no-profit, no-interest loan that gets repaid to help more families.

It works through a grassroots network of volunteer-driven Fuller Centers in 90 U.S. towns and cities and in 20 countries around the world. Work includes community transformation in El Salvador, Armenia and Madagascar to disaster recovery in places like Mayfield, Kentucky and in Haiti to name a few.

It’s built or repaired over 9,000 homes – enough to house 30,000 people! Learn more about the impact here.

What happens to my donation?

The Fuller Center is known for maximizing donations by putting as much of the funds towards the work as possible. Their independent audit estimated that 92% of the funds go directly to program expenses, with only 8% to administrative and fundraising costs. This is a MUCH higher percentage to program than most groups given that the industry standard is 65% to program. The organization is also rated GuideStar Platinum, the charity evaluator's highest certification.

During the ride we live very simply, sleeping on the floors of gracious and generous church hosts, resulting in only about 2-3% of the funds raised helping to cover Bike Adventure expenses on the road.

Are there other ways I can help?

The rides do need crucial support volunteers and media interns (and often more riders!) if you’re interested in coming along, but besides that, your encouragement and your prayers for health, safety, and a great team would be highly appreciated. THANK YOU so much! This is a team event, and it’s not just the riders: by helping YOU are part of the team!