Bicycling for Educational Opportunities
Donation protected
The Need
The San Lorenzo High environmental club has helped many low-income, first-generation students educate themselves and their local community on Native American uses of California native plants, wetland restoration, and the clear benefits of gardening with natives. Outside of their direct work with natives plants, the club is also responsible for recycling all the paper and beverage containers on the campus, and has both performed landscape demonstrations on lawn removal for the neighboring community, and participated in over twenty restoration projects on public lands. Through these activities, the club has created leadership positions while also performing community service, setting up many of their first-generation students to pursue college.
Unfortunately, the environmental club at San Lorenzo High School is now at a crossroads. For the last eight years the club has raised money through a native plant sale run cooperatively with the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. The sale is the primary fundraiser for the club, however, the pandemic caused the 2020 and 2021 sales to be cancelled. Additionally, the founding teacher has just retired. While he still volunteers at afterschool and weekend club activities, it has become far more difficult to recruit students to join the club—an issue only compounded with the pandemic and no students being on campus. Finally, the school district suspended a class that would allow students to receive academic credit for their work with the club. These events happening all at once has greatly reduced membership and what the club is capable of doing.
How to Help
Two things I am passionate about are the environment, and educational opportunity. In order to help, I will be bicycling across the country to raise funds that will be used to create paid internships for the underserved students who are active in San Lorenzo High School’s environmental club. The internship program will be overseen by Steve Wiley and Alan Fishman, who manage the San Lorenzo High School’s native plant garden and nursery.
Paid internships for members of the environmental club would free students from having to take jobs outside of school to help support their families. Working through high school often impacts academic performance and also prevents students from participating in clubs due to a lack of time. The paid internship you would be contributing to would allow students to continue supporting their families while participating in a club that not only benefits them, but also the rest of us through their environmental stewardship. Paid interns would help recruit more members into the environmental club, and help the club to survive this particularly difficult time until things can return to normal. The faculty and adult volunteers will train the interns in horticultural and leadership skills so that they can teach and lead other students, and strengthen the club.
My goal is to raise at least $5,000 for these paid internships. In order to do this, I need to raise one dollar and twenty five cents for each mile I pedal on my 4,000 mile long journey.
I will be leaving the San Francisco Bay Area on June 1, and expect to arrive in Massachusetts in August.
Progress and updates on my trip will be posted on my website (coming soon).
If you can help out:
Goal: Raise at least $1.25 a mile.
- One cent a mile would be $40 coast to coast
- Two cents a mile would be $80 coast to coast
- Three cents a mile would be $120 coast to coast
- Four cents a mile would be $160 coast to coast
- Five cents a mile would be $200 coast to coast
Other mile and dollar amounts are welcome! For larger contributions, if you give me your information I will write you a thank you postcard from your state of choice along my route! (Route to be finalized soon)
Please share this GoFundMe with anyone who is passionate about the environment, educational opportunities, or cycling!
Thank you!
The San Lorenzo High environmental club has helped many low-income, first-generation students educate themselves and their local community on Native American uses of California native plants, wetland restoration, and the clear benefits of gardening with natives. Outside of their direct work with natives plants, the club is also responsible for recycling all the paper and beverage containers on the campus, and has both performed landscape demonstrations on lawn removal for the neighboring community, and participated in over twenty restoration projects on public lands. Through these activities, the club has created leadership positions while also performing community service, setting up many of their first-generation students to pursue college.
Unfortunately, the environmental club at San Lorenzo High School is now at a crossroads. For the last eight years the club has raised money through a native plant sale run cooperatively with the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. The sale is the primary fundraiser for the club, however, the pandemic caused the 2020 and 2021 sales to be cancelled. Additionally, the founding teacher has just retired. While he still volunteers at afterschool and weekend club activities, it has become far more difficult to recruit students to join the club—an issue only compounded with the pandemic and no students being on campus. Finally, the school district suspended a class that would allow students to receive academic credit for their work with the club. These events happening all at once has greatly reduced membership and what the club is capable of doing.
How to Help
Two things I am passionate about are the environment, and educational opportunity. In order to help, I will be bicycling across the country to raise funds that will be used to create paid internships for the underserved students who are active in San Lorenzo High School’s environmental club. The internship program will be overseen by Steve Wiley and Alan Fishman, who manage the San Lorenzo High School’s native plant garden and nursery.
Paid internships for members of the environmental club would free students from having to take jobs outside of school to help support their families. Working through high school often impacts academic performance and also prevents students from participating in clubs due to a lack of time. The paid internship you would be contributing to would allow students to continue supporting their families while participating in a club that not only benefits them, but also the rest of us through their environmental stewardship. Paid interns would help recruit more members into the environmental club, and help the club to survive this particularly difficult time until things can return to normal. The faculty and adult volunteers will train the interns in horticultural and leadership skills so that they can teach and lead other students, and strengthen the club.
My goal is to raise at least $5,000 for these paid internships. In order to do this, I need to raise one dollar and twenty five cents for each mile I pedal on my 4,000 mile long journey.
I will be leaving the San Francisco Bay Area on June 1, and expect to arrive in Massachusetts in August.
Progress and updates on my trip will be posted on my website (coming soon).
If you can help out:
Goal: Raise at least $1.25 a mile.
- One cent a mile would be $40 coast to coast
- Two cents a mile would be $80 coast to coast
- Three cents a mile would be $120 coast to coast
- Four cents a mile would be $160 coast to coast
- Five cents a mile would be $200 coast to coast
Other mile and dollar amounts are welcome! For larger contributions, if you give me your information I will write you a thank you postcard from your state of choice along my route! (Route to be finalized soon)
Please share this GoFundMe with anyone who is passionate about the environment, educational opportunities, or cycling!
Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Peter May
Organizer
San Pablo, CA
Kathy Kramer
Beneficiary