Week One – By the numbers
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The first week of the Tour has come to a close.
Our team has covered 358 miles on the saddle. We have climbed 22,745 feet.
We now have 68 riders registered to join us for a day or more.
We have screened The Trafficked Life in 15 locations with more to happen and over 2,000 people have seen the documentary.
We have 10 groups throughout the valley and high desert who will be funded and as of Friday night we have raised over $30,000 to help end human trafficking in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond. That money will also go to help survivors as they work to rebuild their lives.
I have long argued that we need a different metric for nonprofit and social endeavors, money seems like a paltry measuring stick. The lives touched by the Tour are already almost impossible for me to contemplate. A ballpark estimate that I am sure is low is that 2,218 people have been directly impacted by the Tour. How many more have been touched in ways that we cannot measure or imagine?
If we are to be successful at raising awareness and perhaps nudging our communities toward creating lasting change we have to work together. We are already seeing promising signs up and down the valley. The Taft community has already held a Human Trafficking Summit and other places are having similar conversations. Today we learned from our allies in Visalia that there will be a San Joaquin Valley application for Federal funding to combat Human trafficking.
We also need to thank the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, United Way of Kern County and Motor City Buick GMC for being the primary sponsors of the Tour. Without their help and support this Tour would not be at all successful. Without their vision, there would be no support. We also need to thank our supporters for providing the resources that help us every day (look for them at the bottom of the Home page).
We are truly humbled and honored to ride this Tour. It is a labor of love for the most vulnerable in our communities and in society. It is a labor of compassion to work to change people’s eyes and hearts. It is a labor of joy to work and collaborate with some of the most amazing people up and down the San Joaquin Valley.
Together, let’s change the world.
Peace.