Hello!

My name's Amy and I'm here to record memories and promote a coast to coast, east to west summer-long bike trip in support of affordable housing issues. With an organization known as Bike & Build, myself and 33 of my soon-to-be best friends, will ride our bikes 3,500 miles from Nags Head, North Carolina to San Diego, California. Along the way, we will give community presentations about affordable housing and bike clinics for kids, provide grants with the money we raise, ranging from $100 to $10,000, and garner media attention for our cause. There are 7 other trips this year, too, with a total of 240 riders! Last year Bike & Build riders raised nearly .5 million for affordable housing organizations across the country!!

I discovered B&B (Bike & Build) just before Christmas this past year and have not looked back. My father is a cyclist who began riding in the late 70's, before the days of spandex, if you can believe that. His love of the sport had always been endearing, but until I got my own bike I had no idea. That's mine up there, in the picture on the right; a sleek, steel, old & still purrin' Italian beauty of a bike.

My interest in affordable housing came about during a trip to St. Bernard's Parish in New Orleans, LA with a week-long Habitat for Humanity build with my college, the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The building was hard; my group set to work putting up siding. On our breaks, we took to walking around the neighborhood, talking to people in their yards who were rebuilding their own homes. It was truly profound; despite their significant losses and hidden from the world by lack of awareness, coverage, care, they were happy. The people we talked with were happy to have what little they had, a blood orange tree or a section of their home that had survived the flooding. And, they were amazed that we were there. It taught me about being grateful and how, by allowing one's sense of entitlement to fall away, every little thing becomes a gift. On our last day, a neighbor, who had quickly become our friend, brought us a trashbag full of the most delicious blood oranges.

I hope that you will consider making a donation in support of my cause. All people deserve an opportunity for fair, adequate, equitable and affordable housing; it is not a privilege, it is a right.
If you would like to make a donation, please check out our website: http://www.bikeandbuild.org, click on the 'Donate' link on the left, and select my name, 'Amy Saunders.' It's 100% tax-deductible and guaranteed to make at least two people very happy, myself and the recipient. :)

Cheers!