Submitted
This summer, Alycia Britton, 28, is joining Bike & Build, a national nonprofit committed to raising money and awareness for affordable housing, to ride her bicycle up the east coast with a team of 18 young adults on the Keys to Canada route.
The journey will begin on May 20, when Alycia will report to Key West, Fla. Over the next 10 weeks, the Keys to Canada team will pedal an average of 71 miles per day to Calais, Maine and the Canadian border, arriving July 25. Along the way, the riders will participate in 18 volunteer build days with different affordable housing organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, and small local housing nonprofits to help build affordable homes for families in need. Riders will build in towns like Miami, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, among others. They will also advocate for the need for affordable homes for all Americans in the many host communities and pass-through towns along the way.
Alycia previously rode with the same organization in 2014 on a cross-country bike trip that started in the Outer Banks, North Carolina and ended in San Diego, Calif.
“I am so excited for the opportunity to make a tangible impact in communities along the East Coast, including my home city! I can’t wait to meet everyone and help build the future home for so many hard-working, deserving Americans!”
Alycia must fundraise at least $5,000 to support the trip. Much of that money is then donated to affordable housing organizations, and since 2003 Bike & Build has donated $6.2 million to varying affordable housing organizations nationwide. To support Alycia, visit her fundraising page at give.classy.org/alyciak2c18. You can also mail a check to Bike & Build and write “Alycia Britton” in the memo.
“We are deeply proud of riders like Alycia who are so committed to the affordable housing cause that she is willing to raise much-needed funds and spend over two months biking across the country,” said Claire Collins, Bike & Build’s Senior Program Director. “Bike & Build provides the opportunity, but it is the riders who make the lasting impact in so many communities.”
The K2C route is one of five cycling trips that Bike & Build offers each summer. In total, roughly 180 18-to-29 year old riders will see and experience first-hand the affordable housing need in this country. In addition to volunteering with construction efforts at affordable housing sites, riders also meet with local officials and community members to discuss affordable housing issues. Riders will sleep in local churches, community centers, and schools, and will rely on the generosity of hundreds of community members for food, showers, and other necessities. When the trip is complete, many Bike & Builders have gone on to continue their commitment to service through their career choices or further volunteering.
Based in Philadelphia, Bike & Build is a non-profit organization that encourages young adults to address the country’s affordable housing crisis through organized bicycle trips. Trip participants support the affordable housing cause by fundraising and building efforts. Since its founding in 2003, Bike & Build has motivated over 3,300 young adult volunteers and contributed over $6.2 million and 225,000 volunteer hours to housing groups such as Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together to fund projects in the United States. For more information, visit www.bikeandbuild.org or call (267) 331–8488.
