This year was the 15th Annual Cebo Ride – and it was a great one! We were blessed with a beautiful summer day. Sunny, but not too hot. A breeze, but not too windy. And most importantly, a safe day for all our riders. We kicked off the day around 7am with over 30 riders. For the last leg of the ride, we were joined by riders of all ages, from 5 to 70+. The group arrived together at the finish line in Lakeside Park around 12:30 where we were greeted by a wonderful crowd of supporters. Father Mike led us in a celebratory Mass and kicked off lunch for the food-ready congregation.
Cebo Ride 2016 was also our first year of giving our donors and riders the ability to raise money and sign-up online. Next year, we hope to make the process even easier. As we continue to evolve and become more ‘tech-savvy,’ we hope to build a long-term channel for Sarnelli House to live on for decades to come. That means thinking about the future and adapting to new technology and opportunities for raising money. We kicked that off in full force this year and plan to continue that for years to come. We were able to raise a combined total of $100,000 thanks to each of you!
Now that summer has wound down, we have had time to look back on this year’s ride and begin to think about how we’ll make next year even better. Each year, our goal is to do better than we did the year before: raise more money for the kids, have more meaningful participation in the ride, and build a stronger sense of community around our Catholic tenet of social justice. That doesn’t mean, however, that our goal is always more riders, but rather stronger and more meaningful participation.
We do want to continue to think bigger for the future of Sarnelli House and find new ways of raising money and awareness. We want to hear more ideas about how to engage those who may want to support and get involved outside of our annual Cebo Ride. Let us know if you have ideas!
Father Mike has done so much for the children of Sarnelli House, and it is up to each of us to ensure we continue to keep this great work going forward for years to come. Please let us know how we can continue to do a better job to raise money, engage you and your communities, and give back to the kids of Sarnelli House.
Please visit our website at ceboride.org or email ceboride@gmail.com to see pictures from the ride, learn more about how to get involved, donate, or ask questions of our team.
Thank you for your time, your support, and your dedication,
Meg Whitty