Three people riding stationary bikes at 3 a.m. on a college campus is a strange sight, but don’t be alarmed. For 30 hours, an estimated 60 participants will alternate riding bikes as part of Pedal for Push, an event aimed at raising money and awareness for people with disabilities.
Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is hosting the event outside of the psychology building from 9 a.m. Tuesday to 3 p.m. Wednesday. The fraternity is hoping to raise $2,000 in donations via cash or checks.
“We feel like it’s going to be a good opportunity with raising awareness and money for people,” said Jaime Varela, chaplain of Theta Sigma, the CSULB chapter of Pi Kappa Phi.
Pedal for Push is a program sponsored by Push America, a non-profit organization aimed at educating communities and enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. This is the inaugural event at CSULB, but chapters from other universities have held similar events.
“Around the nation, we’re the only fraternity to create, own and operate our own philanthropy,” rush chair of the chapter Abtin Hashemian said. “People with disabilities are one of the most marginalized groups in our society.”
Much of the inspiration to host Pedal for Push is drawn from another program that is sponsored by Push America. Journey of Hope requires volunteers to ride a total of 4,000 miles in three months on a trek from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
Pi Kappa Phi co-founder Brent Freeman participated last summer to help raise money. He rode an average of 70 miles each day.
“Journey of Hope got me involved in the community to help people with disabilities,” Freeman said. “I felt like I needed to bring that back into Long Beach.”
Freeman said that it was easy to find motivation during the ride. Throughout the trip, he met several people with disabilities who were excited about the ride and the events that they hosted throughout different cities along the way.
“One of the main motivational factors was that I was able to use my abilities to ride my bike,” said Freeman. “It’s nothing compared to what some people have to struggle through. There was no way I was going to quit.”
Pi Kappa Phi is hoping to make this an annual event and has assigned people to all of the time slots. Members are trying to secure a fourth stationary bike to allow for more riders and volunteers may be allowed to help out riders for a few minutes of their shifts.
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