People’s to Host Bike & Build July 3-4
The Green Sanctuary Committee will be hosting about 25 members of a Bike & Build crew Sunday afternoon, July 3, to Monday morning, July 4. They “engage young adults in service-oriented, cross-country cycling trips to raise money and awareness for affordable housing.” This summer, 100 riders will participate in three cross-country trips and one regional trip between June 12 and August 26. Our group, the Northern US team, will leave the Atlantic coast at Portsmouth, NH, and travel to the Pacific coast at Bellingham, WA. En route they will participate in build days with more than 14 different affordable housing organizations. They will arrive in Kalamazoo from Grand Rapids via the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, and their next stop will be in South Bend, IN. They won’t be building in Kalamazoo, just staying over on their way to their next build site.
The majority of the group will arrive mid-afternoon on July 3, with a small advance party arriving that morning. They’ll get themselves set up and then we’ll provide dinner. That evening, Bike and Build will be giving a 30 minute presentation about their cause, as well as putting together a “Bike Rodeo” and repair workshop for anyone who is interested. The presentation will begin at 6:30pm on July 3, with the rodeo following at 7pm. All ages are welcome. Please bring your bikes and helmets!
We’re excited about how this activity ties together two of our church’s social justice concerns—encouraging bicycle use to cut carbon emissions and helping provide affordable housing.
If you’d like to help, please let us know. We can use help with food, hospitality, program, and probably in other ways we haven’t thought of yet. Please get in touch with Connie Ferguson, Gary Heckman, Tom Hackley or Allan Hunt for more info or to volunteer.
