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Community Corner

Two Ride 100 Miles to Buy Bikes

St. Louise parishioners still a little short on enough donations to buy 5 bikes through World Bicycle Relief.

Two La Grange Park residents, who are parishioners, still are collecting donations to meet their goal of buying five bicycles for those living in undeveloped countries.

John Panek said he and Michael Miller collected a little over $600 in pledges for the 100-mile, one-way bicycle trip they made Saturday, Sept. 17, to Waterford, Wis., to benefit World Bicycle Relief.  They hope to raise $670—enough to buy five sturdy bicycles at $134 each for students to go to school; or adults to go to market, the doctor, or work, in countries in Central America and Africa where other transportation is not available.

Those who want to donate, can click on the link to their donation page.

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Panek and Miller, both in their 40s, are members of the Social Action Committee at St. Louise that they said is involved in a wide range of charities, including monthly food drives. They saw it as a challenge and Christian mission to ask others to help raise money to buy the five bicycles through World Bicycle Relief.

They chose Waterford, near Kenosha and Racine, because it is exactly 100 miles away and Miller’s relatives live there.

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“It was a personal challenge to do a 100-mile trip,” Panek said, adding 80 percent of the journey was on trails. They left at 8 a.m. and traveled on the Illinois Prairie Path, its Elgin branch and along the Fox River, finally arriving at about 6 p.m., after stops.

“When we crossed the (Wisconsin) border, the first thing we saw was a Green Bay Packers helmet mailbox:” Panek said, adding that made Wisconsin native Miller happy.

After visiting with Miller’s relatives, they put their bikes on a car for a 1-1/2 hour ride home, arriving at about midnight.

Panek described the bicycles, sent by World Bicycle Relief, as sturdy and made for rough terrain.

"It's been a long time since I've taken on a big cycling adventure and it's even better knowing we are using this time to support World Bicycle Relief. We're blessed to have access to education, good transportation and affordable goods. It's hard to imagine a child not getting to school or a vendor not getting his goods to the market just because they're lacking a bicycle," said Panek in a statement. "Our goal is small and humble, but the lasting difference can be enduring."

More information about World Bicycle relief is available at its website.

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