VeloProject.com

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting Manilla Dean. She is the food director of the West End Food Ministries, a community-serving arm of English Road Baptist Church in High Point. For those of you participated in the VeloProject / Spinergy Labor Day ride, we asked that you contribute 2 cans of food which were then donated to West End.

Manilla had never heard of VeloProject or Spinergy. All she knew was that a caring group of bicyclists thought enough of their community and less-advantaged people to try and make a difference. I delivered 3 shopping carts full of canned goods along with another $150 in cash donations. Manilla was at once thankful, emotional and deeply grateful. Thursday is food distribution day at West End and the shelves were nearly bare. Later today, entire families will arrive in the hopes of getting enough food for the next week. Thanks to our efforts, they will.

In the end, it’s not about race teams or matching uniforms or even riding a bike. The West End benefit idea was first floated at a VeloProject board meeting. A date was picked, a route was planned and a bunch of bike riders chose to help those in need. And we did — and will — do it again.

To each of you who played a part in this, I offer a “virtual” hug of thanks….just like the one Manilla gave to me after she saw how much food was in the back of my car. It was as wonderful a feeling as you can imagine.