FORT SMITH - As the sun peaked over the hills of nearby Chaffee Crossing on Saturday, more than 300 bicycle riders pushed off from Ben Geren Regional Park for the second annual True Grit Ride 100.
Riders of varying abilities atop assorted pedaling machines rode off into the countryside of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma at 7 a.m. to raise money for the Community Services Clearinghouse’s Meals for Kids program.
The noncompetitive ride drew cyclists from throughout the area and the region - Tennessee, Louisiana andTexas, along with Arkansas and Oklahoma. Ride organizer Karen Przybysz said cyclists were enticed by reviews from riders in last year’s inaugural ride.
“If it is a good enough ride, they will go the distance for it,” she said.
For Jeff and Michelle Bailey of Fayetteville, the True Grit Ride was their first organized ride. The couple had been riding for a couple of years and thought the event would be fun, as well as a way to support the Meals for Kids program.
“It’s a good cause, a charity,” participant Bill Thornton of Fort Smith said. “It’s going to help promote Fort Smith and the River Valley area.And it’s a great time to get out with people and spread the idea of good health.”
The ride, with routes of 10, 35, 50, 75 and 100 miles that take riders through some of the clearinghouse’s seven-county service area, was hosted by the clearinghouse guild in Fort Smith. Przybysz said about as many riders chose the longer routes as the shorter courses.
About 100 volunteers from the guild or with business and individual sponsors helped get things started at Ben Geren and ran the 13 aid stations along the routes. The aid stations provided the riders with fluids and snacks to keep up their energy levels.
Przybysz said law-enforcement agencies along the routes were consulted about spots that might pose safety problems. Officers were posted at those points to shepherd the riders along.
Clearinghouse spokesman Sue Robison said the goal this year was to raise $20,000 for the Meals for Kids program, but Przybysz said she hoped the event would surpass the ride inaugural year’s total of $30,000.
Robison said Meals for Kids provides weekend food for children in the 80 schools in the clearinghouse’s service area. Children whom teachers and counselors suggest for the program get backpacks on Fridays with food that they can prepare themselves, such as cereal, juice, pudding, meat sticks, Vienna sausages, toaster pastries, crackers and treats, Robison said.
It’s an important program, Robison said, because while children in need can get breakfast and lunch served at school during the week, their nutritional needs are not confined to Monday through Friday. Getting the extra food during the weekend ensures they will have enough energyto work when they return to school, she said.
The program is not just for children from unemployed, one-parent homes. Robison said children of a licensed practical nurse undergoing cancer treatment, for example, also qualified for the emergency help.
The nonprof it clearinghouse spent more than $200,000 on the program last year, Robison said.
She said the clearinghouse also spent more than $300,000 last year on client assistance programs. The organization helps families, the elderly and disabled with utility bills, medication and other needs on an emergency basis.
The organization maintains a well-stocked pantry for people needing emergency food assistance. The clearinghouse takes clients that apply for help and referrals from the Reynolds Cancer Support House, public schools and the Department of Human Services, according to the organization’s website.
Robison said the clearinghouse raises most of its own money for its programs through fundraisers, donations, grants and the United Way, which awarded the clearinghouse $200,000 last year.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 15 on 06/23/2013