MISSOULA — The Fuller Center for Housing cross-country bike ride rode through the rain on Monday and stopped in Missoula.
The Fuller Center — which raises money for housing all across the world — hosts bike rides with riders coming from across the country.
For those that do need housing, they require people to work for 500 hours helping build other's homes to then qualify for a 0% interest rate loan to build their own home.
The money that is repaid from that loan is then recycled throughout the organization helping fund other projects.
The ride that stopped through Missoula has already raised $180,000 on their ride that started in Seattle and ends in Washington D.C.
A ride across the country may seem intimidating to some, but for these riders, there’s a deep passion behind that also helps the organization raise money ride organizer Neil Mullikin told MTN.
“The riders start to become very passionate about what we do and so they start sharing hey we did this in this community and this in this community. And what ends up happening is that message starts to come across to another individual and the next thing you know, a donation comes across.”
Maggie Adkison, a ride participant, expressed her joy towards the ride by telling MTN that “it just feels really rewarding. Helping people out then also like, at the end of a bike ride. Like wow! I just did that! I just biked 40 to 100 miles!”
Mullikin — who has been with the Fuller Center since 2021 — said it’s the change that the organization brings that motivates him to push through all the miles.
“There’s hardly anything out there that changes someone so quickly in their life and I love being part of that.”
The Fuller Center for Housing is a non-profit based in Georgia but serves communities around the world. Mullikin also said that those who wish to donate can visit https://www.fullercenterbikeadventure.org/.
Overall, the bikers from across the country join the ride for reasons such as the scenic views, the adventure, or just the challenge of riding across the country.
But they all come together for the same goal of raising money for housing, for those in need.
