Cross-Country Bike Ride to Support Children's Charity

Redlands, CA June 21, 2004 -– To raise funds in support of low-cost tutoring for local children, two concerned senior citizens will cross the country on a tandem bicycle this summer.

Richard and Susan Rogers of Redlands, California, will ride across the United States, leaving from Seattle, Washington, on July 12 and arriving in West Point, New York, on September 6. They will have no support vehicles on this 3,000-mile journey that will raise funds for Mustard Seed Tutorial Center, but their progress will be tracked through geographic software donated by Environmental Systems Research Institute.

Richard, 67, and Susan, 65, both tutor at Mustard Seed, and Richard is the Treasurer of the Board. Susan is a retired kindergarten teacher and currently tutors a six-year old boy. Richard, a retired engineer who taught at West Point Naval Academy, tutors high school math. Both active participants in the program for over a year, they decided this winter to undertake this project and have ridden more than 2,000 miles in preparation.

Mustard Seed Tutorial Center is a non-profit after-school tutoring program that offers low-cost educational assistance to families in Redlands and surrounding communities. The 80 kindergarten through twelfth grade students enrolled in the program receive tutoring in a variety of subjects and, if able, pay $5 per session, a price that has not changed since the program's inception in 1994. Mustard Seed's tutor corps is made up of 45 committed community members, most of whom are volunteers. In addition to one-on-one tutoring, Mustard Seed offers an intensive Reading Lab, a computer lab for skill reinforcement, and free seminars for parents that provide tools for working with their students.

As they travel, the Rogers' progress will be updated daily on Mustard Seed's website. Environmental Systems Research Institute, a Redlands-based technology leader in GIS (geographic information system) software, has generously donated geographic web services for this project. ESRI's ArcWeb Services will allow Mustard Seed to post a dynamic map that will display the Rogers' planned course, progress, and present location, in addition to a variety of other trip details.

At the time of this writing over 60 donors have pledged more than $5,000 in honor of the Rogers' efforts to support Mustard Seed's work. For information on participating in this fundraiser or to volunteer as a tutor, please call Eric Stoddard, Director, at (909) 335-8678 or visit www.MustardSeedTutorialCenter.org.

Contact Information
Mustard Seed Tutorial Center
Eric Stoddard 909-335-8678
Richard Rogers 909-793-2659
51 West Olive Avenue, Redlands CA 92373




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