Our Mission
Why are we doing this?
Catastrophes are disasters, and we normally think of disasters as precipitous events: earthquakes, tsunamis, floods. But just as every war is unique to every soldier and every civilian, ongoing catastrophes afflict numerous individuals and societies - ones that we often overlook because of their persistence. We inure ourselves to some of the worst disasters on the globe, while being shocked by new ones. But we hope, with you, to fight these ongoing disasters.
Poverty, illness, violence against women, hopelessness, lack of education, deep uncertainly, and the very threat of existence are some of the worst problems of our times. We have chosen our beneficiaries around each. The worst off people are the same as us: they have dreams, goals, motivation, determination, and ambition. But many live or survive on the edge of catastrophes we have difficulty imagining. They lack, above all, opportunity. Rather than create dependency, participating in or donating to these rides will give some of the most disadvantaged a chance to live a life worth living. We each have the same dream.
The D.R.E.A.M. Ride allows people to discover in themselves the ability to do the impossible...
Many things in this world seem impossible. To some solving the problems of poverty, disease, lack of education, and violence throughout the world is impossible. Other people also think riding a bicycle across the country (or even from Boston to New York) is impossible. The accomplishment of one "impossible" undertaking reveals that other things deemed "impossible" are in fact within reach if they are simply handled a little at a time. The D.R.E.A.M. Ride allows people to discover in themselves the ability to do the impossible, both by accomplishing the monumental task of a long distance bike ride, as well as raising money to begin chipping away at the monumental problems that face the world around us.
Our Mission
Better Health Care, Access to Education, Women's Empowerment, Emergency Disaster Relief, and Furthering Vaccine Research for AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria are five key factors linked to the betterment of the developing world. Therefore, the D.R.E.A.M. Ride's mission is to support well-respected organizations working in these key areas:
- CARE - Women's Empowerment and Education
- Partners In Health - HIV/AIDS work in Rwanda
- Doctors Without Borders - Emergency Disaster Relief
- Emory Vaccine Center - Vaccine Research for HIV & Malaria
- International Peace Initiatives - Secondary Education in Kenya
- The Canaan Foundation - Secondary School Scholarships in Kenya and Cameroon
Our Background
The D.R.E.A.M. Ride is the creation of two graduate students and two young professionals brought together by their passion for helping the underprivileged of the world, as well as (at least for three of the four) their participation in a ride over the summer of 2006 called the Yes Ride. Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances it became evident that the Yes Ride would not be continued in 2007. The D.R.E.A.M. Ride was thus created to continue to offer opportunities - opportunities to challenge ourselves and our fellow Americans; and to offer opportunities to those who need them the most. From the experiences of the riders last year and the amazingly warm response we received all across the country, we knew we had to offer our D.R.E.A.M...