Two TCU students are on a cross-country bike ride, with a purpose, doing Something Good by raising awareness and money for people with disabilities.
Clayton Rogers and Asher Smith are representing TCU and their fraternity Pi Kappa Phi, biking from San Francisco to Washington D.C.
“I have family with disabilities, and have worked with people with disabilities before through charity events, and I just really wanted to continue it,” said Smith. “Then also biking across the country, that sounds awesome, so it’s just something I really wanted to try and dedicate my summer to.”
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We caught up with Smith about this experience of a lifetime.
It’s all part of “The Ability Experience,” helping people with disabilities. The experience is part of an annual mission called The Journey of Hope, a cross county trek on a bike to raise awareness.
Each cyclist has to raise a minimum of $6,500, but most cyclist have already gone far beyond that. Money raised goes towards grants for special organizations they meet along the way.
“Around every 80 miles or so, we meet up with a local group that’s focused on people with disabilities. So we do something that’s called a friendship visit, and that can look like something such as a dance party, playing basketball, going to the water park,” said Smith. “It’s really just something that would be considered normal for everyone else, something special for these people that we try to help bridge that gap, help show them a good time.”
Their goal is to raise upwards of $700,000 during their nearly 4,000 mile ride. Smith says his team has already raised around $330,000 for people with disabilities.
