'Tractor Dave' Hits the Road

"Tractor Dave" Wolfsen was to leave on Wednesday morning, June 1, to begin a three-month, 9,300 mile journey across the United States on a restored 1937 Co-Op tractor.

A brief, half-hour send-off ceremony was set for the Byron Center, Mich., office of Disaster Relief Services of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee.

Speakers at the send-off were to include Bill Adams, CRWRC Disaster Response Services director; Bev Abma, Foods Resource Bank representative, and CRWRC-Kenya development consultant, Stephan Lutz.

Wolfsen is a retired farm equipment dealer from Fremont, Mich. The goal of his trip, "Tractor Dave Crosses America," is to raise funds and awareness for the two non-profit organizations based in the Mid-West that work toward alleviating hunger and responding to disasters around the world: CRWRC and Foods Resource Bank.

Wolfsen's route will take him through each of the contiguous states. Daily events are being planned along the way, where Wolfsen will speak about disaster response and global hunger—and how CRWRC, a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and FRB help communities and families around the world.

Dave’s stops include events from Massachusetts to New Mexico and Montana to Missouri. For specific information and regular updates about when Dave will be in your area, see Tractor Dave's Trip.

Wolfsen has had a passion for tractors that goes back to growing up on a dairy farm. "As long as I can remember I always had a love of tractors," Dave says. "As a kid, I cleaned box stalls all day just to get to drive the tractor while spreading manure on the fields.”

For 36 years Wolfsen sold tractors for a living. Now retired, he has time to devote to his other passion: helping people in need.

Wolfsen sees this project as a calling. The trip is a way for him to combine the main focuses of his life. "I love old tractors and I'm concerned about people who live in poverty. In this project, I can act on both of my passions."

CRWRC is a faith-based, international relief and development organization that touches the lives of more than 1.5 million of the world's poorest people annually in development, justice education, and disaster response. FRB is a non-profit organization that grows solutions to hunger by connecting local communities around the globe through agriculture.

For more information, contact Bill Adams, director of CRWRC's Disaster Response Services at 616-560-2782.

Dave also has an active following on Facebook on the "Tractor Dave Crosses America" cause page. He’ll be updating this page daily during his trip, so follow him there.

For more information about FRB, contact Kelsey Day at [email protected].

To learn more about CRWRC's disaster response programs, go to www.crwrc.org, or contact Beth DeGraff at [email protected].