Feb. 21, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Former Maryland women's soccer All-American Mallory Mahar will be taking on a new challenge this summer. In lieu of playing for the Washington Freedom W-league team, Mahar will be hanging up her soccer boots and trading them in for some spandex and a helmet. Mahar will be one of roughly 200 young adults to participate in a cross-country bike ride to raise awareness and money for the affordable housing issue that affects 95 million Americans each year.
Bike and Build is a non-profit organization that works to end poverty housing. Mahar and her fellow cyclists will start in Jacksonville, Fla., and ride 4,000 miles to San Francisco, stopping along the way to help at affordable housing projects. The riders will spend a week in the Gulf Coast region helping with Hurricane Katrina relief. Bike and Build has seven different routes and each rider must raise $4,000 in order to participate in the trip.
Contributions to Mahar's cause can be made at www.bikeandbuild.org. This is a tax-deductible donation. Just click "donate," find her name (Mahar, Mallory) in the drop down menu and donate whatever you can afford. Contributions can also be mailed - the form is available on the donate page of the Bike and Build website.
Each dollar helps to create healthier families and more secure communities, while at the same time empowering young adults and fostering the spirit of service. Thank you for your support.
About Bike and Build:
Over five seasons, Bike & Build has contributed $1,144,231 to housing groups to fund projects planned and executed by young adults; this includes $391,327 donated from the summer of 2007.
Through pre-arranged gifts, Bike & Build funds affordable housing projects executed by our participants in communities where our events begin. Through our grant program, our organization identifies and supports exciting projects involving young people all throughout the nation. Bike & Build also supports local affordable housing organizations along each route through on the road donations.
