Sea to Sea Funds Disbursed to Fight Poverty

Nov. 14, 2008 -- The Christian Reformed Church on Friday morning disbursed funds to denominational agencies and organizations that played an important role in helping to coordinate and to participate in the Sea to Sea Bike Tour 2008. After expenses, the tour raised more than $1.5 million.

This money will be used for a number of poverty-fighting programs worldwide, including helping to build a Christian school in the Dominican Republic, equipping business leaders with the tools to share their skills with cross-cultural partners, and improving communities in Sierra Leone, says a press release put out before the ceremony.

Some 220 riders took part in this summer's journey that began in Seattle, Wash., moved across mountains, pedaled over the plains, traveled through cities, large and small, and traveled through a portion of Canada on the way to the New Jersey shore.

"It was a huge undertaking," said Rev. Jerry Dykstra, executive director of the denomination during a brief ceremony honoring the accomplishments of the bike tour. Dykstra himself rode with his wife, Linda, on part of the tour.

"This was a phenomenal event in the history of the Christian Reformed Church. We were able to do it bi-nationally … and I praise God for that."

Money raised from the tour is going to organizations that have programs that help to fight poverty in North America and around the world. The riders raised the money in donations as part of their pledge to join in the tour that was held in conjunction with the Reformed Church in America.

"The issue of poverty is complex," says Dykstra. "This money will be channeled in ways that have a significant impact on poverty." The funds, he said, go to groups that have found ways to develop programs that work to break the cycle of poverty. "It is incredibly amazing to me that through people riding bikes we can do this."

Checks on Friday morning went to the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Christian Reformed World Missions, and Partners Worldwide, an organization with ties to the CRC that helps break the cycle of poverty by working to train and develop business people in various countries to begin or more profitably operate their businesses.

Accepting the check for Partners Worldwide was Lou Havemen, a Partners' donor developer, who was one of those who rode the entire tour. Haveman, in fact, was one of the first people who sat down at a table more than a year ago to discuss the possibility of putting on the tour, which was based in large part on a similar Sea to Sea tour undertaken across Canada in 2005. "Lou was in this from the start," says Dykstra.

Money raised from the tour is also being given to Christian Reformed Home Missions and the Reformed Church in America. In addition, funds will be given to the Christian Reformed Foundation. That money will be available for local churches, organizations and individuals working to end the cycle of poverty through grants. The applications for these grants will be available in a few weeks.

"We did this to raise the money, but in the process people's lives were changed and friendships were developed," says Dykstra. The fund-raising effort also brought enthusiasm to CRC congregations all along the way who helped supply the needs of riders as they rode through various communities.

--Chris Meehan, CRC Communications

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