Amy Lynn Reifsnyder

Special to the Ruidoso News

It is always disconcerting to hear the blare of a fire engine as it interrupts an otherwise peaceful morning, especially during wildfire season.

But it turns out, the blast in Carrizozo around noon on July 2, heralded a fortunate event: the arrival of Journey of Hope.

“Journey of Hope is a cross-country bicycle trek that begins in both San Francisco and Seattle, and concludes with three teams converging upon Washington, D.C.," according to abilityexperience.org.

The journey covers 32 states. Volunteers comprised solely of members of Pi Kappa Phi pedal their bikes across 12,000 miles, both raising funds and promoting awareness for people with disabilities.

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According to James Maloney, spokesperson for the group that came through Lincoln County, the team covers an average of 75 miles a day. In addition to traveling across the country, the team visits local groups that support people with disabilities, and that is why they visited New Horizons Developmental Center in Carrizozo.

The members were welcomed by residents of the facility, who spent the morning decorating the lounge area.

Residents and staff wore patriotic colors of red, white, and blue, including T-shirts made by the residents. After showering, the bicyclists and residents shared lunch and spent some time getting acquainted.

When asked why he participated, one young man said, “I get to see how happy it makes people we visit with. That makes me happy. They look forward to our visit for weeks and talk about it afterward for a long while. It brightens up each community, which also gives me satisfaction.”

Another rider said he participates because, “cycling is my favorite way to travel. We see the country and it's great to see a new state every week.”

First Baptist Church, Court Street, housed them overnight and provided breakfast and take-along snacks before sending them on to the next leg of their trip.

Journey of Hope is a program of Push America, the national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. Push America was founded in 1977 with the hope of committing its members to enhance the lives of people with disabilities.

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Push America and Pi Kappa Phi have raised more than $13 million to date, according to information about the organization. It is the only national fraternity to establish and maintain its own nonprofit organization.

For more information or to make a donation, contact James Mahoney at jpmaloney@abilityexperience.com.

Reporter Dianne Stallings can be contacted at dstallings@ruidosonews.com.