Cycling for Access and Opportunity
Donation protected
The ask:
The Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies Cycling Team (The SAIS CCC) would like to ask for your help to get from San Francisco to Washington, DC.
This ride has two goals. First, we want to provide rural and low-income populations with connections to, and knowledge of, programs that can grant them access to elite educational institutions like SAIS. Second, we want to raise money for a SAIS fellowship specifically targeted at recruiting individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the face of severe adversity. Our route will pass through 111 cities, and we will be stopping at community colleges and town halls along the way to connect with people.
To fully fund this ride, we need $16,000, or roughly $1,780 per rider. This covers most food and equipment for the trip, panning out to $35 per individual per day of the ride.
Why this ride needs to happen:
This ride and its associated fellowship are sorely needed. Less than 2.9% of the general Johns Hopkins population comes from the poorest 20% of the U.S. population, while 72% come from the top 20%. At the graduate level, this trend is only magnified.
Now you might ask, why do we need to seek out leaders from the lowest socio-economic classes? The answer: it will change the world.
Here’s a story from one of our team members…
“As an individual coming from poverty, I am acutely aware of how big this need is. Out of hundreds of friends and acquaintances I’ve met at SAIS, I know of only four who share my background and the challenges that come with it.
The poverty demographic represents more than half the world population and at least a fifth of the U.S. population. Poverty has a cultural experience that differentiates someone as much as race, gender, or nationality, and it needs more empowered leaders. Most people at elite institutions like SAIS don’t understand what poverty means. So often, students who hear of my “low-income” background will try to identify with me, talking of their inability to travel or their having had to attend a public university for undergrad.
These individuals will one day make policy decisions directly affecting poverty communities, and they will have no idea who they’re dealing with. I’ve worked since I was 11 years old and I didn’t read my first entire book until I was 12. Growing up, every other Thursday I would mix flour, water and salt together for some bread because my father didn’t get paid until the second Friday of each month. At 14 years old, I was removed from school and thrown into solitary confinement by corrupt police officers who wanted me to testify against my drug-dealing brother. This turned into a year of house arrest with an addict mother and a television to keep me company. While midterms were happening last year, my eldest brother and I were negotiating who should fly to New York to identify a body and make sure it wasn’t our sibling. I don’t think the same, act the same, or feel the same as most of my peers or government officials, and I want more people who can represent me at decision-making tables.”
Let’s start taking leaders from the bottom and giving them access to the top. Fund our bike ride and help us take the first step towards welcoming students to SAIS who have excelled despite their conditions, rather than because of them.
Bicycling Specifics:
This is the first annual SAIS student-led bike ride across the U.S. to reach more rural populations. The 2019 bike ride will start in San Francisco and end in Washington D.C. The ride would follow a detailed route that passes through 111 U.S. cities, 97 of which are small and non-coastal. For maximum impact, we are collaborating with relevant administration offices at SAIS to implement the following strategies:
Awareness: We are organizing meetings along the way at community colleges, churches, and townhalls via local media outlets. We want to reach as many people from non-coastal regions of the U.S. Team participants will discuss our internships and career prospects, as well as the desire for more representation of middle-American voices in the D.C. career realm. We will also collect contact information and establish mentorship connections for interested students, so that they can receive guidance on the skills necessary to put together a competitive application.
Fundraising: We are working closely with the SAIS development office to connect with alumni en route to raise funds for the Underrepresented Communities Fellowship.
What else you can do to help:
Get the word out! Please feel free to share our link at gofundme.com/cyclingforaccess
Meet us along the way! If you would like to grab drinks while we are biking, shoot us a message and we will swap schedules. We’re also looking for connections with community colleges and local media outlets.
The Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies Cycling Team (The SAIS CCC) would like to ask for your help to get from San Francisco to Washington, DC.
This ride has two goals. First, we want to provide rural and low-income populations with connections to, and knowledge of, programs that can grant them access to elite educational institutions like SAIS. Second, we want to raise money for a SAIS fellowship specifically targeted at recruiting individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the face of severe adversity. Our route will pass through 111 cities, and we will be stopping at community colleges and town halls along the way to connect with people.
To fully fund this ride, we need $16,000, or roughly $1,780 per rider. This covers most food and equipment for the trip, panning out to $35 per individual per day of the ride.
Why this ride needs to happen:
This ride and its associated fellowship are sorely needed. Less than 2.9% of the general Johns Hopkins population comes from the poorest 20% of the U.S. population, while 72% come from the top 20%. At the graduate level, this trend is only magnified.
Now you might ask, why do we need to seek out leaders from the lowest socio-economic classes? The answer: it will change the world.
Here’s a story from one of our team members…
“As an individual coming from poverty, I am acutely aware of how big this need is. Out of hundreds of friends and acquaintances I’ve met at SAIS, I know of only four who share my background and the challenges that come with it.
The poverty demographic represents more than half the world population and at least a fifth of the U.S. population. Poverty has a cultural experience that differentiates someone as much as race, gender, or nationality, and it needs more empowered leaders. Most people at elite institutions like SAIS don’t understand what poverty means. So often, students who hear of my “low-income” background will try to identify with me, talking of their inability to travel or their having had to attend a public university for undergrad.
These individuals will one day make policy decisions directly affecting poverty communities, and they will have no idea who they’re dealing with. I’ve worked since I was 11 years old and I didn’t read my first entire book until I was 12. Growing up, every other Thursday I would mix flour, water and salt together for some bread because my father didn’t get paid until the second Friday of each month. At 14 years old, I was removed from school and thrown into solitary confinement by corrupt police officers who wanted me to testify against my drug-dealing brother. This turned into a year of house arrest with an addict mother and a television to keep me company. While midterms were happening last year, my eldest brother and I were negotiating who should fly to New York to identify a body and make sure it wasn’t our sibling. I don’t think the same, act the same, or feel the same as most of my peers or government officials, and I want more people who can represent me at decision-making tables.”
Let’s start taking leaders from the bottom and giving them access to the top. Fund our bike ride and help us take the first step towards welcoming students to SAIS who have excelled despite their conditions, rather than because of them.
Bicycling Specifics:
This is the first annual SAIS student-led bike ride across the U.S. to reach more rural populations. The 2019 bike ride will start in San Francisco and end in Washington D.C. The ride would follow a detailed route that passes through 111 U.S. cities, 97 of which are small and non-coastal. For maximum impact, we are collaborating with relevant administration offices at SAIS to implement the following strategies:
Awareness: We are organizing meetings along the way at community colleges, churches, and townhalls via local media outlets. We want to reach as many people from non-coastal regions of the U.S. Team participants will discuss our internships and career prospects, as well as the desire for more representation of middle-American voices in the D.C. career realm. We will also collect contact information and establish mentorship connections for interested students, so that they can receive guidance on the skills necessary to put together a competitive application.
Fundraising: We are working closely with the SAIS development office to connect with alumni en route to raise funds for the Underrepresented Communities Fellowship.
What else you can do to help:
Get the word out! Please feel free to share our link at gofundme.com/cyclingforaccess
Meet us along the way! If you would like to grab drinks while we are biking, shoot us a message and we will swap schedules. We’re also looking for connections with community colleges and local media outlets.
Fundraising team: SAIS CCC (6)
John Poor
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC
Joshua Henderson
Team member
Chloe Hauenstein
Team member
Sarahann Yung-An
Team member
Lidia Gregg
Team member
