Thank you to all who have responded with interest in helping with Trips for Kids Gainesville.  We will be having a meeting at my house on Wednesday, June 29th at 7:00 pm.  If you are able to attend and do not have my address, please email me and I will send it to you. In case you missed it, below is the original email that I sent out on May 26.

 

Look forward to seeing you on the 29th!

 

Clint

 

 

A few years ago several of us in Gainesville started a Trips for Kids
chapter (TFK Gainesville) here in Gainesville. For those of you not
familiar with Trips for Kids, it is a national organization created to
reach at-risk or under-privileged youth through cycling.It is created to
not only give these youth the opportunity to ride, but also to develop
mentoring relationships, teach kids about their health, the environment
and personal responsibility.You can visit www.tripsforkids.org
<http://www.tripsforkids.org/> for more information.

It has been such a gratifying feeling to open the world of cycling to
youth that are not exposed to competitive or recreational trail riding
in daily life.What we as cyclists often take for granted can be a whole
new adventure and opportunity for a young person that exposes them to
new paths.

Last summer the program lost momentum with scheduling and recruiting
conflicts. I don’t want Gainesville to miss the chance to use cycling to
impact young people, so I have made the difficult decision to search out
new leadership to carry this vision forward.

The chapter is already fully established, having gone through all of the
required processes—such as filing paperwork, attaining insurance,
establishing a 501(c)(3), and setting up a bank account.We also started
a website (www.tfkgainesville.org <http://www.tfkgainesville.org/>) but
could use the expertise to finish and improve it. Additionally, Trek has
donated 5 new mountain bikes to the program, and we have also received
donations of water bottles, seat packs and helmets.

I’m now sending this letter to the cycling community of Gainesville to
present the opportunity to impact young people, share the sport of
cycling to a wider audience, and have a blast doing it. If this
interests you, please contact me via e-mail at clintg37@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:clintg37@xxxxxxxxx>.After gathering your response I will set up
a meeting and let you know more about the program in person and give
some ideas on future direction.

Clint Gibbs

PS Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who may be
interested that is not on the GCC or Team Florida email lists.