Why would a priest ride 5,000 miles across country asking for help to reduce poverty?
 
Here are a few of the reasons:

• To share a meal with the homeless in Tacoma, Washington
• To work at a food bank in Ennis, Montana
• To make dinner for hundreds at a nutrition site in Ft. Collins, Colorado
• To witness cutting edge poverty reduction programs in St. Louis, MO
• To share a meal, discussion and prayers with inmates in the Louisiana State Prison in Angola
• To take part in rallies in Pensacola and Tallahassee addressing the causes of poverty
• To spend time with children at the Centro Hispano Catolico in Miami
  

In other words, Fr. Matt Ruhl, SJ  is calling all Americans to take action to significantly reduce poverty in every corner of this country.  As a former pastor of parishes located in the poorest areas of major cities, his passion comes from first-hand knowledge of parents who struggle to provide a decent life for their families.  He and 11 other riders set out on Memorial Day, 2010 with an audacious goal – to ride across the country raising money and echoing Catholic Charities USA’s call for a national plan to reduce the number of families below the poverty line. At the same time, they are raising funds for poverty reduction programs.

Have they succeeded? You can judge the results so far:

• More than 400 persons rode with them along the way
• More than 10,000 attended events in communities on the route
• Almost 30,000 visits to Cyclingforchange.org and more than 1600 C4C Facebook fans
• More than 3.5 million people heard the message through stories in print, online and broadcast media
• And too many stories of generosity to count.

The riders are heading toward the finish of their 5000 mile challenge, culminating with a stop at the Centro Hispano Catolico Child Care Center in Miami on August 31 and ultimately, Key West on September 4.
 
If you haven't donated yet, now's the time to do it!

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