The 2020 Bike for a Culture of Life will be a bit different in this year of the pandemic. A maximum of 6 riders will be traversing the state in a shortened 2 day window, from Saturday, September 19 through Sunday, September 20, traversing Wisconsin for 200 miles from the Mississippi River at Onalaska (just north of LaCrosse) to Lake Michigan at Kohler-Andrae State Park (just south of Sheboygan). Each day of the trip will cover about 100 miles, allowing the completion of the trip in 2 days, rather than the normal 4 days.
Participants in the Bike for a Culture of Life are raising funds for life-sustaining projects focusing on the most vulnerable members of the human family: the unborn, elderly, and disabled, war refugees, slaves and others exploited in their labor and bodies, and prisoners on death row and the families of murder victims. The Bike for a Culture of Life also seeks to raise awareness that respect for life is a “seamless garment” – an ethic that rejects war, abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, slavery and other forms of oppression, and embraces all whose lives are threatened by the fear and insecurity of the powerful. For more information about the consistent ethic of life, see www.consistentlifenetwork.org.
The following life-affirming organizations are being supported by the 2020 Bike for a Culture of Life:
Together for Better Days (http://togetherforbetterdays.org ): a community of people, working on the Greek island of Lesvos and now on mainland Greece, who believe in creating a welcoming and dignified space for refugees and migrants seeking protection in Europe.
CareNet Pregnancy Center of Dane County/Green County (http://www.carenetdane.org/friends/index.html or http://carenetmonroe.com): providing help, hope and healing to women, men and families facing unplanned pregnancies.
L’Arche Community of Chicago (http://www.larchechicago.org): revealing the dignity of every human being by building a community of faith and belonging where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together in family-style homes.
Jubilee Partners ( http://www.jubileepartners.org): an intentional service community offering hospitality to refugees who have newly arrived in the U.S.
Fuller Center for Housing Project in Pignon, Haiti (http://fullercenter.org/haiti ): constructing simple, decent affordable homes with families based on their needs and income, repaid on a no-profit, no-interest basis.
Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation (http://www.mvfr.org ): helping the families of murder victims to tell their stories in ways that disrupt and dismantle the death penalty and create pathways for wholeness, reconciliation and restoration.
Not Dead Yet (http://notdeadyet.org): a national, grassroots disability rights group that opposes legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia as deadly forms of discrimination.
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (http://www.ncadp.org ): working to abolish the death penalty in the United States and supporting efforts to abolish the death penalty worldwide.
Each rider is seeking sponsors pledging support based on the number of miles biked. For example, a sponsor who pledges support a biker at $.25 per mile would donate a total of $50 if the entire 200 mile trip is completed (200 x $.25 = $50). Sponsors of the Bike for a Culture of Life may designate how their donations should be distributed among these organizations. 100% of the donated funds will be passed on to these organizations.
If you wish to make a general contribution not linked to a particular bike rider, you donation may be sent to Bike for a Culture of Life, in care of Joe Cook, N3927 County Hwy. J, Monroe, WI 53566. For a tax deductible charitable contribution, your check should be made payable directly to the organization or organizations listed above that you wish to support. If interested in joining the ride, or for more information about riding or sponsoring riders, please contact Joe at 608-426-4276.