Between November 3 and November 10, I am taking a break from the WUJS program to participate in Hazon Israel Ride 2009, a 300 mile bike ride from Tzfat to Eilat to raise money to support environmental research and sustainability awareness, both in Israel and throughout the rest of the world. The first day of the ride will take me and about 40 other rides through the Golan Heights and around the Kinneret. On the second day, we bike from sea to sea, starting at the Kinneret and ending in Caesarea on the shores of the Mediterranean. That evening, we take a bus to the Negev where we do the last three days of the ride, ending in Eilat. We also have a (literal) day of rest on Shabbat, which will be spent in Mitzpe Ramon. Although I've been to Israel quite a few times, I have yet to extensively travel through the Negev, so I am especially looking forward to that part of the ride.
I've been an avid bicyclist for many years, so finding a bike ride that I could do while I was here in Israel and using that ride as a way to explore Israel was a high priority on my list of things I want to do while I was here. Hazon Israel Ride is one of two well known fundraising rides that takes place in Israel each year and has a large number of participants from North America (ALYN Wheels of Love, which supports the children's hospital in Jerusalem, is the other). I know a number of people who have done Israel Ride in the past, including my rabbi and a friend of mine from college. Additionally, after I researched the work that the Arava Institute and Hazon do in Israel, I realized that I could passionately discuss with potential donors why the work of these organizations is important and worth supporting. For example, throughout Israel right now, nearly every landscape is parched and the lack of rain over the past few years is very evident. I can count on one hand the number of times it has rained in Jerusalem since I arrived here in June. But the environmental and ecological challenges that the current drought conditions pose to Israel do not only affect Jews; they affect everyone living here regardless of their religious beliefs or political affiliation. The fact that I have raised money from people who are Jewish, Christian, and Muslim, and who fall all across the political spectrum, validates that the work of the Arava Institute and Hazon does not benefit just a specific group of people, but the world population at large.
All Israel Ride participants are required to raise a minimum of $2,500. Some of that money goes to cover ride costs, the rest goes directly to the Arava Institute and to Hazon. I originally set a personal fundraising goal of $3,000, which I have already met, and have since set a second goal of raising an additional $600 for a total of $3600. I'm closing in on this second goal, having now raised over $3,300, including several donations from WUJS participants and staff.
In a sense, I have been training for this ride throughout this entire year's riding season. I believe that the almost daily bike rides that I have been doing since the spring will put me in the shape and condition that I need to be in to do an average of 60 to 70 miles a day for five days. Over the course of this year, I have biked up and down the many hills of Ithaca, NY (where I went to school), around the monuments and memorials in Washington, DC (my hometown), and since June, I have been riding throughout Jerusalem. During Sukkot, I went with several friends on a ride around the Kinneret, and I have also been doing some longer rides in the Jerusalem area, including to Ein Kerem and Mevaseret Tzion. The views and scenery that I get to take in on these training rides in the Jerusalem area are remarkable, and I figure the same will hold true in the other parts of the country that Israel Ride will take me through.
Although the ride is very soon, it isn't too late to sponsor me and support the work of the Arava Institute and Hazon through a tax-deductible donation. In fact, donations can be made through the end of December. Just visit my fundraising page at http://arava.kintera.org/2009fallride/orentree and follow the instructions to donate securely using a credit card. It just takes a few minutes and even a small donation goes a very long way towards helping me reach my fundraising goals and towards supporting the important work of the organizations that I am supporting.
(Click on Oren Profile.mov to see a video of Oren talking about his ride)
