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June 27, 2003
By RICHARD STEPHENSJourney of Hope passes through BeattyPVT
Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this year, the cycling event, in which the young men bicycle from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., benefits people with disabilities. The team had left Tonopah early that morning, pedaling its way to Beatty well before noon. The riders are all members or alumni of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. To qualify to ride in the event, each team member must first raise $5,000 to benefit people with disabilities. With the aid of corporate sponsors, the program will raise more than $500,000 this year. Normally there are two teams on the ride: one each for a northern and a southern route. But this year a third team, an anniversary group, departed a week earlier from the program's original starting point in Portland, Ore. All three teams will link up on August 16 to finish their ride into the nation's capital. The team that passed through Beatty actually has the shortest route at 3,910 miles. The northern team will cover 3,930 miles, and the anniversary team will pedal 4,366. However, the southern team can lay claim to pedaling in the hottest weather. The anniversary team actually encountered snow this week in Montana. Pi Kappa Phi's philanthropic efforts, called Push America, also sponsors regional rides, and engages in a variety of events and programs to promote disability education and awareness, to provide hands-on service to those with disabilities, and to aid organizations that serve people with disabilities. Since 1988, the Journey of Hope has been sponsored by Saturn, which also sponsors another Pi Kappa Phi event, Gear Up Florida (established 1997). Over 840 men have participated in those programs, raising over $5 million for Push America. The Beatty Lions Club hosted dinner for the team in the community center this year. They spent the night sleeping on the high school gym floor, and then hit the road at 6 a.m. on the next day of their journey, which was to take them as far as Indian Springs. |
