Bike Ride Across the U.S. For Big Brothers Big Sisters

For Guam cyclist Joseph Husslein, Santa Barbara is the official start of a “bucket list” dream: the Little Big Ride, a 3,240-mile, 41-day cycling journey to the Atlantic Coast to raise money and awareness for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

At 7:00 a.m. on Monday, September 13, he’ll dip his back wheel in the waters of the Pacific under the towering palms of Santa Barbara harbor, and then head down the Pacific Coast Highway. He’ll travel 80 miles to his first stop, Valencia, CA, thus completing day one of his 41-day quest.

Santa Barbara’s own Family Service Agency is the first of several local chapters of Big Brothers Big Sisters across the country that Husslein is visiting on his ride. FSA is hosting a pre-launch Send-Off reception for him Sunday, September 12 at 10:30 a.m. at Family Service Agency’s Santa Barbara office.

Husslein’s dream to cycle coast-to-coast has already raised over $60,000 for various agencies from Guam to Asheville, North Carolina. 100% of all Little Big Ride proceeds is being held in trust by the Beacon Foundation for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and donors are able to designate funds to their hometown agency or to the national or local agency of their choice.

Little Big Ride began raising money in April 2010, gaining steam as Husslein steadily increased his bike training to a grueling 500 miles a week. The 48-year-old hails from Guam where he is President and CEO of TakeCare Health Systems and Veiovis, a medical travel company.

The journey will take Husslein from Santa Barbara to Charleston, South Carolina by October 22. Husslein will make his way through some of the most topographically- and climate-diverse areas in the country: from America’s Pacific Coast to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, from Colorado’s Aspen-cloaked mountain passes to the Ozark Plateau of Missouri, from the harsh Mojave desert to the heights of the Smokey Mountains. His shortest riding day will be 40 miles and his longest, 140 miles. And he’ll climb the equivalent of 5½ Mount Everest summits. It is a cross-country journey that will take him through 11 states: California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The information for the Sunday Send-Off reception:

– WHAT: Pre-launch send-off reception for Little Big Ride Cyclist Joseph Husslein

– WHEN: Sunday, 12 April 2010, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

– WHERE: Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara, 123 West Gutierrez Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

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For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”). Family Service Agency has operated Big Brothers Big Sisters for Santa Barbara County since 1998.

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing evaluation and support that is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that “Littles” will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. Headquartered in Philadelphia with a network of nearly 400 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves more than 255,000 children. Learn how you can positively impact a child’s life, donate, or volunteer at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.