From skamal Thu Apr 15 14:49:09 1999
Subject: bike trip press release
To: rjstewar (Robin Stewart)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 14:49:09 -0400 (EDT)
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Hey, Robin.

The press release as promised.  Soft copy of other files forthcoming.

Sarah.

Forwarded message:
    
    University of Waterloo Students Biking Across Canada for Education 
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
    Kickoff Trek at Kitchener City Hall 
    
    What started as a cycling trip by UW graduating students to see Canada
    and celebrate their academic achievements has become a quest to ensure
    others will have the same educational opportunities.
    
    Seven students from math, engineering and science plan to push off
    from Vancouver on May 1 and pedal their way back to UW in time for
    convocation in June, raising money to provide scholarships for students
    in Nicaragua and Gautemala along the way.  They've dubbed the project
    Cycling for Opportunity.
    
    With pledges for the trip and a series of fundraising events, they hope
    to reach the goal of $14,500 worth of donations to be split between
    the Fair Opportunites Group, a development organization
    founded by UW alumni, and Escuela de Espanol Pop Wuj, an educational
    organization in Guatemala.
    
    The idea for the project originated from graduate Sarah
    Kamal's experiences working in Nicaragua and Guatemala, where
    underprivileged students in poverty-stricken neighbourhoods have few
    educational opportunities.  Phil Meyer, a classmate, described to
    her the fun he had on a bike trip to Vancouver, the two ideas seemed
    like the perfect match, and the tour was born.
    
    The cyclists, who are paying their own way for the full length of the
    trip, have issued a challenge to other universities and future
    graduating classes of the University of Waterloo to dig out their
    cycling shorts and join them in giving a continuing gift of 
    education from Canadian students to their underprivileged 
    counterparts in the third world.  
    "Not only does this trip give us a chance to grow and challenge
    ourselves in a fun, exciting, and meaningful way, but the money we
    raise will mean a lot," comments Kamal.  "Tuition in Nicaragua for a
    full year ranges from US$40-120, so what seems little to us can go a
    very long way."
    
    The project website is available at 
    http://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~blaw/c4o.html and 
    cheques payable to Cycling for Opportunity can be sent to 
       Cycling for Opportunity
       c/o Veronica Chau 
       Federation of Students 
       Student Life Centre 
       University of Waterloo 
       Waterloo, Ontario
       N2L 3G1
    For more information, contact the cyclists via email at
    cycling_for_opportunity@yahoo.com.