What insane cycling tour have I signed up to do this time?

I’m going to be undertaking a truly epic (Courtney definition) long-distance bike ride with The Fuller Center for Housing. I’ll be cycling a portion of the FCH’s route through coastal California, which consists of several days of cycling through the California sunshine as well as a stopover to help build/repair homes with Fuller Center projects along the way. More about the event itself can be found here: fullercenterbikeadventure.org.

Why am I doing it?

Beyond being crazy about bike touring and indulging in a good distance challenge, I’m committed to taking action on the ground to combat poverty and help alleviate the hardship of homelessness, even if the aid is designated to a seemingly small audience. The best work we can do to strengthen community is to proactively honor the shared humanity in each other, which means contributing my time and energy to another, directly, to help them thrive. I’m looking forward to forming a strong community of volunteers on bikes as we go.

What’s the Fuller Center?

A 501(c)(3) ecumenical Christian organization that believes everyone in the world deserves the opportunity to have a decent home in which to live. Millard and Linda Fuller were self-made millionaires who gave away their fortune in 1969 to follow God's leading. They lived the rest of their lives on humble means and dedicated themselves to providing decent housing to over a million people in 100 countries around the world, culminating in their founding of the Fuller Center in 2005.

Ok, but what does the Fuller Center do?

It builds and repairs homes using volunteers in partnership with families, who help with the work and pay it forward using a no-profit, no-interest loan that gets repaid to help more families.

It works through a grassroots network of volunteer-driven Fuller Centers in 90 U.S. towns and cities and in 20 countries around the world. Work includes community transformation in El Salvador, Armenia and Madagascar to disaster recovery in places like Mayfield, Kentucky and in Haiti to name a few.

It’s built or repaired over 8,000 homes – enough to house 30,000 people! Learn more about the impact here.

What happens to my donation?

The Fuller Center is known for maximizing donations by putting as much of the funds towards the work as possible. Their independent audit estimated that 94% of the funds go directly to program expenses, with only 6% to administrative and fundraising costs. This is a MUCH higher percentage to program than most groups given that the industry standard is 65% to program. The organization is also rated GuideStar Platinum, the charity evaluator's highest certification.

During the ride we live very simply, sleeping on the floors of gracious and generous church hosts, resulting in only about 2-3% of the funds raised helping to cover Bike Adventure expenses on the road.

Are there other ways I can help?

The rides do need crucial support volunteers and media interns (and often more riders!) if you’re interested in coming along, but besides that, your encouragement and your prayers for health, safety, and a great team would be highly appreciated. THANK YOU so much! This is a team event, and it’s not just the riders: by helping YOU are part of the team!