This inspiring guest blog was written by 15- and 13-year-olds, Michael and Andrew Hyde. They planned their own DIY fundraising bike ride to help the Vermont Foodbank end hunger.
Hi, our names are Michael and Andrew Hyde. We were both born and raised in New York City. We have been traveling to Vermont since we were toddlers. We have fond memories of swimming in the beautiful ponds, eating delicious local food, and staying in a lovely farmhouse. Vermont is an awesome escape from crowded New York. Vermonters are some of the friendliest people out there. For example, Dorsi Raynolds from the Upper Valley Aquatic Center lets us swim with her team. Phil White organized for us to compete in the Kingdom Swim in Lake Memphremagog. It makes us truly happy when we go to Vermont.
About a year ago we rode in the 50-mile event out of Harpoon Brewery, called the Harpoon Point to Point presented by National Life Group. This is an event that supports the Vermont Foodbank and helps people get the food they need. We learned about their work and some of the hardships that 25 percent of Vermonters have to go through to obtain enough food for their families. It was surprising to us that in the wealthiest country in the world there can be so much hunger.
We started thinking about how we could fight hunger. Over this summer we are going to ride 800 miles in total to raise money for the Vermont Foodbank. Michael is going to ride 550 miles from Reno, Nevada, to Los Angeles, and Andrew is riding 250 miles from the bottom of beautiful Vermont to the top.
Overall our goal is to raise $5,000 for the Vermont Foodbank. We are reaching out to friends and family and asking some small businesses based in Vermont to sponsor us. We know this is a very difficult objective, and so we have also designed T-shirts and wristbands to sell. We are going to be performing some jazz concerts before we ride. But these activities alone will not help us reach our ambitious goal, so we need your help. We hope you will consider donating to this worthy cause.
We would like to thank those who have given us such wonderful memories of Vermont. To those who are hungry, we’re here to fight alongside you!
Please visit our Ride to Fight Hunger page: https://fundraise.vtfoodbank.org/team/105419
Thank you,
Michael and Andrew