Starting June 7th, avid biker and active Boston CS member Terra Curtis will be leaving the comfort of employment and residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA) to raise money and awareness for affordable housing. In order to do this, she will be biking from Providence, Rhode Island to Seattle, Washington - in total approximately 4,000 miles across the North American continent. She will be riding with a program called Bike & Build (www.bikeandbuild.org) along with about 30 other riders from all over the U.S. on this specific route. The program has 6 routes in all, and in total almost 200 people involved every summer. Bike & Build knows that biking across the country is enough to raise some eyebrows, but participants also raise awareness for the cause by giving nightly presentations in local communities and also by assisting at affordable housing construction sites. In order to fund the trip, every participant must raise at least $4,000 - approximately 50% of which goes to facilitate the ride (food, shelter, etc.), and the remaining 50% goes directly to local affordable housing organizations en route.
Terra has had great success thus far in her fundraising efforts, but she has not yet reached Bike and Build's $4,000 goal (nor her own $5,000 goal). She has set up a personal webpage (travellingterra.blogspot.com) where readers can become more informed of her trip, monitor her progress, and most importantly, donate to the cause. Both monetary and in-kind donations are welcomed. The program pre-arranges for accomodation (campsites, church basements, community centers), so the best way for the Couch Surfing community to become involved in Terra's efforts is to educate themselves on the affordable housing issue and to donate funds, kinds words, and encouragement!
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