Well right now we are at another plateau in our journey, from which I'm not sure we'll be able to move. We've reached out to people as far away as California and there seems to be no one who is able or willing to step forward and help us any more in this. We estimate we'll need at least $10,000 more to barely get by and $15,000 to make it a sure thing.
Now, realize my family would be going along as my support team but we would be paying for them out of our own pocket. But there would still be the costs of a rental van for me and my equipment, hotel/hostel/campground fees for each night, fuel for the vehicle and costs for spare parts that I'll need to take along in case I'm in the middle of nowhere and I need to do repairs.
I am NOT planning on buying any new bikes for the trip or buying fancy gear. I plan on doing all the bike work myself (except for that work which one of my sponsors, Adams Cyclery in Northport will be providing to help with the set up), and ALL sponsor monies left over after the trip that we don't use will go to Sunrise Day Camp. So you see, we are not looking to scam people or rip people off or live it up with the high life on the way across country. We are used to living extremely frugally (is that really a word) and we'll continue doing so.
And yet, we can't get anyone interested in this project. I really have been working on this and e-mailing and facebooking and doing all I can but I need help. Amy and I can't do this alone. But the problem is, no one is helping us. We are really starting to feel alone in the world, that there must be something wrong with us as people that no one will come forward and offer to help. We know that there are people that we know (especially on facebook) that have business and know people in business but none of them offer to help.
We're not doing this to get ourselves in the paper. We're not doing this so people will look at us and say, "Wow, your family is so incredible, we want to do newspaper articles and a spread in Family Circle/Redbook/The New York Times Magazine on you!" We just really feel that we need to give back to the world and these children at this camp are in need of help. Yes, there are other donors out there that help them but of all the causes I have been involved with, none are as important as giving children the gift of hope. Children who are struggling with one of the most frightening of all diseases and are asked to take on the same treatment and responsibility as people three, four, five times their age. And yet they face it with all the strength and courage they can muster. Its only right that they should be provided with a place in the summer where they can forget about the disease for a while and just be kids at camp.
But we can't help them because we can't get people interested in this cause. At least not people we know or people that have connections. And what happens to a dream deferred?
Will this dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Will it fester and die?
Will it explode?
Or, to quote another poet, will it exit with a whimper and not with a bang?
I don't know and I'm at my wits end. I need help. If anyone IS reading this, look into yourself and see if you believe in this cause. If the answer is yes, please cast the net about you and see if there is anyone YOU know that might be able to financial help us make this dream a reality.
I hope I'll see you soon, on the road.
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