6A | SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS
“They’re also in about 20
countries building houses,
and we’ve got a number of
people here who have been
to most of those overseas
places where we build,” said
Schroeder. “Most of those
places, you can build a house
in a week if you have one of
these teams pop in, and you
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look at it like it was a week
out of my life, but it totally
transformed someone else’s
life.”
“That’s how I got intro-
duced to this trip,” said Su-
san Pratt, who has been on
13 rides with the Fuller Cen-
ter. “I was in Lynette Geor-
gia, and we were building a
home for a single mom with
three kids; that’s where I met
Ryan [Iafigliola]. After we
finished it, we handed over
the keys to the woman and
her kids. One of the vol-
unteers was a construction
worker who had bought his
own tool belt, and you get
attached to your tools. He
handed over the whole tool
belt tools to one of the kids
and you could see there was
not a dry eye.
“I still get chills every time
I tell the story. When we left,
we had really changed their
lives, and like you said, it was
just a week out of your time.”
The houses built are not
free for all.
As Schroeder explained,
“The people have a mort-
gage, but it’s a zero-interest
mortgage, so their payments
are less, and the repayment
schedule is based on what
they can afford to pay. Then,
because the money was
fronted through donations,
when these people make
payments on their house,
it goes back into a pot and
the Fuller Center can buy
materials for another house.
In cities like Indianapolis
where they have a very ro-
bust covenant partner, the
payments from the houses
they’ve already built total-
ly drive the funding for the
new houses that they build.”
Because homes are built
on a volunteer basis, costs
are significantly lower as
well.
“When you can stand
back at the end of the day
and see the improvement
that your paintbrush or your
hammer made, it’s very con-
crete proof that the world is
a better place than when you
showed up that morning,”
Schroeder said.
Typically, riders would
build and renovate homes
one day a week out of a 10-
week trip.
“These people are so
grateful because they strug-
gle as a homeowner or for
whatever reason, medical,
finance, whatever the case
might be, and we come in
and help them move for-
ward,” said Alice Myk of Il-
linois.
Riders on the Fuller Cen-
ter Bike Adventure are all
volunteers, and they get in-
volved in a variety of ways.
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“For most
of the people,
somebody
they knew had
done it be-
fore and they
heard stories
about
how
great it is,” said
S c h r o e d e r.
“But a lot of
them are like
me; they ride,
and they’ve al-
ways thought,
‘I’d love to ride
my bike across Cyclists with the Fuller Center Bike Adventure’s West Coast tour pre-
the country.’ pare to depart Florence and the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw.
So, they Goo-
gle ‘cross country bike trips.’ is driven by where you’re go- if you need to be loved on,
There are commercial outfits ing to be able to find some- you can come here, and it’s
pretty nice to feel a safe en-
out there, and for $10,000, place to stop.”
Additionally,
Iafigliola
vironment like that.”
they’ll support a trip across
chose
to
return
to
Florence,
The Fuller Center Bike
the country. People scroll
“First,
because
it’s
beautiful
Adventure
was affected by
down and see the Fuller Cen-
and
on
the
coast,
and
the
the
pandemic
like most,
ter, and for a cross-country
second
reason
is
it
had
a
but
fortunately,
things are
trip with them, you have to
nice
alliteration.
We
started
getting
back
on
track
at this
raise around $6,000 in dona-
in
Florida
and
we’re
going
point.
tions, but people can say, ‘At
“For the planning purpos-
least my money is going to to Florence, so it’s Flori-
da
to
Florence.
And
for
us,
es,
COVID was a big chal-
something good, it’s not just
passing
through,
we
wanted
lenge,
” said Iafigliola. “We
going in somebody’s bank
to
go
down
the
West
Coast
were
supposed to be here a
account.’”
route
and
it
seemed
like
a
year
ago,
and we postponed
“That’s how I found out
great
place
to
stop
along
the
whole
ride. There have
about the Fuller Centers
the
way,
and
we’re
happy
we
been
a
lot
more
people drop-
back in 2018,” Myk added. “I
were
able
to.
”
ping
from
the
ride
or adding
was willing to pay $10,000 to
According
to
Scott
Bak-
to
the
ride
late
as
they fig-
go on a trip across the coun-
er
of
Connecticut,
Florence
ured
out
if
they
were
com-
try, and here I just had to
is
a
city
that
aligns
with
the
fortable
going
or
not.
”
raise around $5,000.
In addition, the church
“And you always exceed it. Fuller Center mission and
vision.
stays
were particularly af-
As soon as you tell the story,
“I
think
it’s
because
the
fected
by COVID restric-
what you do and why you’re
folks
in
this
town
have
tions.
doing it, people are so gener-
opened up their hearts to us,”
“We stay at churches ev-
ous. It’s very moving.”
he
said.
“That’s
the
simplest
erywhere
we go, so that was
In addition, the Fuller
answer.
We
just
came
from
more
of
a
challenge because
Center Bike Adventure rid-
getting
showers
at
Coastal
a
lot
of
them
were under-
ers are often repeat partici-
Fitness
—
they
opened
up
standably
hesitant
to open
pants.
their
doors
and
let
us
shower
their
doors.
So,
we
limited
“There are very few peo-
there
for
free.
And
this
town
our
ride
this
year
to
those
ple who are one and done,”
has
opened
up
their
hearts
who
had
already
been
vacci-
said Schroeder.
“Every year we have some to us. We feel the love from nated. That was a way to be
able to stay in churches and
newbies, and there’s no Florence.”
Love
keeps
the
Fuller
Cen-
keep everyone healthy,” he
age limit,” Myk continued.
ter
riders
going
throughout
said.
“We’ve had college kids up
their
journeys,
and
partici-
Similar to other activities
to a man who was 82 years
pants
grow
together
through
that
began to open up in
old. Everyone has their own
their
work.
March
of this year, at essen-
reasons why they start, but
“I
like
to
think
we’re
help-
tially
the
last moment, the
in the end, I think we still
ing
each
other
as
much
as
we
Fuller
Center
riders were
all come back for the same
are
the
people
whose
houses
given
the
go-ahead
to plan
reason.”
we
work
on,
”
Schroeder
said.
this
summer’s
trips.
As far as choosing Flor-
Baker agreed.
The group was able to or-
ence for a destination for the
“I’ve
never
experienced
a
ganize
a one-week ride in
West Coast and Florida to
community
where
I
feel
so
April
from
Nashville to Nat-
Florence rides (which will
much
love,
”
he
said.
“I
really
chez,
Miss.
Only 11 mem-
arrive in Florence on Aug.
haven’t.
It’s
just
amazing.
”
bers
participated,
but it was
8), the group had several
“There’s
complete
trust,
”
a
good
practice.
reasons.
“Because we went
For one, as Schroeder echoed Pratt.
“It’s
great
therapy,
”
Schro-
explained, “Part of it is we
have to pick someplace that eder continued, “and you ar-
we can recruit a church. Al- en’t paying somebody $400
though we average 70 miles an hour for it. We’re building
per day, it’s anywhere from each other up and holding
45 to 100 miles, so a lot of it each other up, and you know
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through the drill for that
April ride, we felt like there
was enough of an acceptance
level of those precautions
that we could go ahead with
the summer rides as well,”
Schroeder said.
“We also tested right be-
fore we started the trip,” Myk
added. “That helped the
churches feel comfortable.”
The group has more plans
to build homes and com-
plete rides throughout the
country and overseas, and
as the pandemic calms down
and international borders
open up, that will become
easier to accomplish.
“We had a guy from En-
gland come over who want-
ed to see America — he
saw the Fuller reason for
riding, so he came and did
it,” said Schroeder. “It was
really emotional at the end,
because he had come to see
what at least parts of Ameri-
ca can be like.”
When the man returned
home, he began looking into
what it would take to bring
a group of riders to England.
That trip hasn’t been sched-
uled yet due to the pandem-
ic.
“The bottom line is, these
aren’t just acquaintances,”
Schroeder said.
The Fuller Center is look-
ing to set up new covenant
partners, which allows them
to give back even more to
the communities like Flor-
ence who help them along
the way.
“We don’t have as many
hands-on volunteer days
[this trip] because we don’t
have any Fuller Centers
[along the way],” explained
Iafigliola. “We would love
to have a Fuller Center in
Florence, so when our bike
rides come through, it gives
us an opportunity to put
our hands to work and leave
some funds bettering this
community, because that’s
what we do on our build
days.”
The Fuller Center West
Coast Bike Adventure riders
will be able to work on com-
munity projects when they
stop in Santa Barbara, Calif.,
around July 31.
For more information,
v i s i t w w w. f u l l e r c e n t e r
bikeadventure.org/.
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