For the last two years, local business owner and active Rotarian Danielle Hall has participated in a five-day bicycle trek to benefit Rotary charities.
She will again attend Redspoke this year from July 14 -19. The 300-mile bike ride benefits Rotary charities and is held in the state of Washington.
She’s been training hard, and is seeking donations to help raise funds. “Every little bit helps. If we can even get 10 people to give $10, that’s $100 extra dollars.”
This ride is a major fund raiser for the Redmond, WA Rotary Club, she said. She first became involved in it when son Andrew went to college there. “I attended the Redmond Rotary meetings when I visited him.”
Locally she had been named Rotarian of the Year for the Rotary Club of North Fort Myers last year, and is the owner of Bayshore Physical Therapy & Massage in Foxmoor Plaza in North Fort Myers off Bayshore Road.
On an international level Rotary helped to nearly eliminate polio and. with the continuing help from famed Bill Gates, is continuing this mission.
On the local level, Rotary gives all of its funds back to the local communities. It is a volunteer-only organization, there are no paid employees in Rotary.
This ride specifically will benefit several organizations. The main organization is Hopelink, which helps homeless youth. Redmond is a suburb of Seattle, and the greater Seattle area has a significant number of homeless. Other organizations include church youth groups and non-profit groups that provide the riders with dinners and breakfasts during the ride.
“I think I like the scenery the most,” she said of the trek itself. “It is beautiful there.”
She stated there were 73 riders last year. “There were probably a third repeats from the year before.”
She is also adding something new this year. “I am excited because I got a video cam that will go on my helmet. It unfortunately does not have real-time, but I plan to put things up on the Internet, possibly YouTube.
It’s easy to make a donation, Hall said. Go to www.active.com/donate/redspoke2010/dhall164. “It goes directly to my personal page and then follow the directions. The ride is only a couple of weeks away.”
If you would like to see more information on the ride or Hopelink you can go to redspoke.org.