By Ryan Smith
Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE —
Up to this point, the longest bike rides Melissa Danielson’s ever taken have been some 24-mile-or-so round-trip excursions from her family’s home in Lawrence Park to Presque Isle.
Following her graduation from Allegheny College in May, though, she’s taking on a journey that beats that mark by a long shot — more than 4,000 miles, in fact.
Danielson’s joined up with Bike and Build Inc., a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that each year sends teams of cyclists on across-the-country routes and into hundreds of different communities to raise awareness about housing issues and to work with local groups on affordable housing projects.
She calls it a “transformational journey of service,” and “a sound example of younger generations advocating for a cause and creating a movement of social change and awareness.”
Her roughly 30-member group begins its trip on May 24 in Charleston, S.C., and, after traveling through and working in 13 states, plans to reach Santa Cruz, Calif., on Aug. 14. The “SC2SC” unit is one of eight groups that, when it’s all said and done, will have pedaled for affordable housing through a total of 46 states and one province.
To participate, however, each cyclist has to raise at least $4,000 in sponsorships, donations and their own personal contributions. In Danielson’s case, that’s about $1 for every mile she’s cycling.
The proceeds are used to benefit affordable housing groups they’re working with (such as Habitat for Humanity), and to cover program expenses and related costs, Danielson said. So far, she said she’s around the half-way mark, and is reaching out to the community to meet her fundraising goal by its May 17 deadline.
Whether its 2 cents per mile or any other amount, Danielson said, local donations to the effort “will help to confront the affordable housing problem” and go a long way toward “revitalizing neighborhoods across America.”
Danielson said it was an experience she had nearly three years ago that started opening her eyes and heart to the struggles that many Americans face in finding and maintaining affordable, decent homes. It was in spring of 2008, when she joined an alternative spring break program and volunteered at Cranks Creek Survival Center in Harlan County, Ky., which at the time was rated as the second poorest county in the nation.
She also traveled to India last fall. While there, she said, “I witnessed the plight of homeless families and individuals who are unable to accommodate their most basic needs. It really shaped me.”
She said it also led to work with other service groups, and eventually to the opportunity to get involved with Bike and Build. Early on in the planning, she said, the upcoming journey “was this very distant thing. Now, it’s becoming more tangible.”
And, she added, “if my community supports me” in the effort, “that’s a sentiment I can extend to the communities I’ll be going to.”
Danielson’s primary local sponsors are Emig’s Bicycle Shop in Meadville and several cycling shops in the Erie area.
You can help
Following her graduation from Allegheny College in May, Melissa Danielson is cycling more than 4,000 miles through 13 states as part of Bike and Build 2010, a nonprofit effort that put teams of cyclists together to raise awareness about housing issues and to work with local groups across the country on affordable housing projects.
To find out how you can donate to the cause and to follow Danielson’s progress after the journey starts on May 24, visit www.bikeandbuild.org on the Web and follow these instructions:
- Click on “2010 Cyclists” on the left panel of the home page;
- Scroll down to “South Carolina 2010 - Roster;” and
- Click on “Melissa Danielson” to find her bio, how to donate as one of her sponsors and, coming soon, a link to an online blog she’ll be updating throughout her journey.
All donations are due by May 17.
Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com
