Dear friends and family,
I’m writing to you because I count you among the people I love who are also doing beautiful things and I hope you’ll support me and my fellow Oakland teachers, and our students. As you know, for the past 3 years I have been deep in the process of becoming an educator, and putting my huge swaths of my time and effort towards the project of supporting young teenagers in becoming scientists, critical thinkers, and compassionate humans. I teach 8th grade science at Life Academy, an Oakland public school in the Fruitvale neighborhood.
As you also know, I've been an avid cyclist for as long as I can remember. I've moved through the world with a bike underneath me...it's how I get to school each day, and it's a huge part of how I experience the world and use my body. Biking makes me happy, and helps me in making others happy.
This year, I have the exciting privilege to join together two huge parts of my life: I’m hopping on my bike in late April to join Ride 4A Reason- an annual fundraiser and 100+ mile bike ride to Sacramento that directly supports Oakland schools. Despite all the miles I've covered on a bike over the years, I've actually never rode 100+ miles in one day. I'm so excited to change that, for this occasion!
Last year, thanks to the riders and supporters of Ride 4A Reason, more than 6,000 kids in eleven public schools in Oakland and Alameda had field trips, got to visit their school libraries, experienced the awe of river rafting, and wore official team uniforms for their sports teams -- for many, these were firsts.
My goal is to raise $1000 by the time I hop on my bike on April 26th - can you donate today to help me get there? 100% of the funds I raise will go directly to public schools in Oakland and their students, like my kids at Life Academy. Please consider donating $10, $50, $100 or more to help me get there!
Humbly and gratefully,
Sam
