LIVINGSTON, NJ -- Beneath an arch of white and orange balloons, 100 children with special needs pedaled forward on their new custom-made bicycles from Olivia's Friendship Cycle to kick off Bike 4 Friendship, a cross-country tour to raise awareness for children with special needs.
Leading the pack was 11-year-old Olivia Lefkovits, who initiated the event as part of her Bat Mitzvah project. An avid cyclist, Olivia wanted all children to be able to experience the joy of bike riding. “I just love biking because it’s always been a part of our family,” she said.
Daniel Saul, Zalman Perlman and Shmuel Rothstein of The Rabbinical College of America in Morristown will bike from New Jersey to California to help raise awareness and funds for the Friendship Circle, the fastest growing Jewish organization for children with special needs. With over 79 locations worldwide the Friendship Circle has cultivated friendships between 5,000 special children and close to 11,000 teen volunteers.
“The Friendship Circle’s message is ‘Do all you can’, which is a reason why we’re doing this,” Perlman said.
Perlman, or "Zalmy," as people call him, reflected on the significance of the occasion: “It’s not every day three rabbis bike across America,” he said.
Perlman thought of the idea for the ride while in a pizza shop in Jerusalem. Now that his idea is a reality, a 4,000-mile journey awaits. The trio will be riding about 100 to 120 miles a day, except for weekends and days when they fast.
The riders departed Saturday June 26th from Livingston and will stop in New York City before continuing on to North Carolina, Texas and New Mexico. They will stop at 20 Friendship Circle chapters along the way and will end in Agoura Hills, CA, Zalmy’s home state.
Taking the southern route to California will help them avoid the mountains of the Midwest, which would make traveling extremely difficult. In preparation for the voyage the three have been training by biking 70 miles a day for the last few months.
All of the money raised through the ride will go to The Friendship Circle’s mission of bringing friendship and inclusion into the lives of children with special needs, while also providing support to their families and siblings. The biker’s progress throughout the country can be tracked at www.friendshipcircle.com/bike4friendship.
This article was originally published at www.thealternativepress.com.
Leading the pack was 11-year-old Olivia Lefkovits, who initiated the event as part of her Bat Mitzvah project. An avid cyclist, Olivia wanted all children to be able to experience the joy of bike riding. “I just love biking because it’s always been a part of our family,” she said.
Daniel Saul, Zalman Perlman and Shmuel Rothstein of The Rabbinical College of America in Morristown will bike from New Jersey to California to help raise awareness and funds for the Friendship Circle, the fastest growing Jewish organization for children with special needs. With over 79 locations worldwide the Friendship Circle has cultivated friendships between 5,000 special children and close to 11,000 teen volunteers.
“The Friendship Circle’s message is ‘Do all you can’, which is a reason why we’re doing this,” Perlman said.
Perlman, or "Zalmy," as people call him, reflected on the significance of the occasion: “It’s not every day three rabbis bike across America,” he said.
Perlman thought of the idea for the ride while in a pizza shop in Jerusalem. Now that his idea is a reality, a 4,000-mile journey awaits. The trio will be riding about 100 to 120 miles a day, except for weekends and days when they fast.
The riders departed Saturday June 26th from Livingston and will stop in New York City before continuing on to North Carolina, Texas and New Mexico. They will stop at 20 Friendship Circle chapters along the way and will end in Agoura Hills, CA, Zalmy’s home state.
Taking the southern route to California will help them avoid the mountains of the Midwest, which would make traveling extremely difficult. In preparation for the voyage the three have been training by biking 70 miles a day for the last few months.
All of the money raised through the ride will go to The Friendship Circle’s mission of bringing friendship and inclusion into the lives of children with special needs, while also providing support to their families and siblings. The biker’s progress throughout the country can be tracked at www.friendshipcircle.com/bike4friendship.
This article was originally published at www.thealternativepress.com.
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