A dozen bicyclists are riding across the South to raise money for tornado relief in the cities of Joplin and Tuscaloosa.
Those two cities were devastated by severe tornadoes that took the lives of 51 people in Tuscaloosa on April 27 and 162 in Joplin on May 22.
The 12 on the Present: Hope Tour bicycle ride are aiming to raise $100,000 as they pedal more than 750 miles from Joplin, to Tuscaloosa, and finally to a religious conference in the Atlanta area.
The ride is jointly sponsored by Venture Expeditions, Catalyst and Convoy of Hope.
The cyclists from California, Texas, Minnesota and Ohio joined the bicycle tour out of sense of adventure and to help. Deb Go of Lake Forest, California, writes on the website:
“Geographically removed from the effects of the recent tornadoes, I am
riding out of a desire to partner with those who are living and coping
with these realities on a daily basis and be present and active in their
time of recovery.”
The bicyclists started the ride last weekend in Joplin, photo above, and are expected to hit Tuscaloosa on Saturday. They're chalking up 45 to 100 miles a day on this ride; each had to raise $5,000 to join.
A reporter with the Memphis Commercial Appeal caught up with them earlier in the week. Speaking to cyclist Gunnar Johnson, a pastor at the Gateway Church in Fort Worth:
“To see the devastation … we were all quiet, we didn't know what to
say to the families when we met them. I think awareness is a big
deal. (May 22) was the tornado and it's off the media's radar already.
There is so many things happening, yet there's still a lot of hurt in
Joplin and Tuscaloosa.”
You can follow their experiences at the Present: Hope Tour blog.
If you'd like to donate to the tornado recovery relief, there's a Convoy of Hope donation button at the Venture Expeditions website.
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