Hello Fellow Velos!
Once again we will have a BIKE WASH in support of the BORP Revolution Ride.
Moreover, this year’s BORP ride is dedicated to Steve Goldenberg (Goldy).
In his honor, Pauline will be sponsoring the bike wash on Saturday, May 10, commencing at 3:00 pm.
Location: 5389 Hilltop Crescent in Oakland.
Dinner will follow.
Cost will be the same as last year: $25 for the bike wash and $25 for the dinner.
Total contribution of $50, all of which will go to BORP.
Payment and other details will follow. As of now . . . just save the date!
Many thanks,
-Pauline, and
Randy and Chris (VeloRaptor Team co-captains)
Disabled children and their advocates rejoiced Wednesday as more than $42,000 in donations flooded in to replace 30 specially crafted bicycles stolen last week from a Berkeley storeroom.
Businesses, foundations and the public have swamped the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program with donations, from a $25,000 donation by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to $5 and $10 gifts from individuals.
“All of us were so bummed out on Monday, but then all these people started calling and offering to help, and all these donations started pouring in,” said Rick Spittler, the program’s executive director. “We feel so much better, knowing there are so many people out there who want to help. It’s so heartening.”
One man walked in the BORP office on Bancroft Way and handed over his $1,000 Christmas bonus. Another stopped by with more than $1,000 he had collected from co-workers. Another called from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to replace one of the stolen bikes. Kristi Yamaguchi’s foundation chipped in $5,000.
It’s been nonstop,” Spittler said. “It seems every 10 minutes we’re getting more donations.” Thieves took the bikes from a locked storeroom at the north end of Aquatic Park, where the children ride with their able-bodied family and friends. BORP discovered the theft Friday.
The bikes, worth about $80,000, are customized for children with cerebral palsy, brain injuries, blindness, paralysis and other disabilities. Some of the bikes have three wheels, or are hand-powered, or have two seats.
“When we learned about the bikes’ being taken away from these young people, we wanted to help BORP get back to doing what it does so well for our community,” said Mike Billeci, Bay Area president of Wells Fargo, which gave BORP $10,000. “We hope our donation will encourage others to take action.”
The outpouring has been a comfort to the kids. “It just shows that something good can come out of all this evil stuff,” said Antonia De Michiel, 15, of Albany, who has cerebral palsy and used one of the hand-powered bicycles to train for a
25-mile ride in October.
“That someone stole our bikes is just so wrong on so many levels. It’s totally incomprehensible,” she said. “Without bikes, we don’t have a bike program. It’s just really sad.” De Michiel said the program allowed her to meet other teens who share her disability and athletic goals. She also enjoyed training most of the year for BORP’s annual fundraiser, the 25-mile October ride called Revolution.
Should anyone see one of BORP’s bikes for sale at a flea market, on Craigslist or in another venue, Spittler asks that they buy it, and BORP will reimburse them. Most are labeled with the names of the children who ride them.
“Somewhere out there is a bike with my name on it,” De Michiel said. “Hopefully I’ll get it back.”
Berkeley police are pursuing several leads in the case, said Officer Joe Okies.
To help:
— BORP can be reached at (510) 849-4663 or at www.borp.org.
— Anyone with leads should call Berkeley police at (510) 981-5900
The VeloRaptors are long-time supporters of Bike East Bay, and this year we mounted a campaign to raise money for Bike East Bay to use as a ‘Matching Gift.’ The results of the campaign were quite successful as noted in the letter below from Rebecca Saltzman the Bike East Bay Development Director.
Jan 6, 2025
VeloRaptors: Thanks so much to members of the VeloRaptors Cycling Club of Oakland. The contributions of your members formed a matching gift $20,118.60!
I’m happy to report that in just 4 days, from December 27-31, Bike East Bay raised $24,532 online from 152 donors, exceeding our matching gift goal by more than $4,000! With the match amount, we raised a total of $44,650.60 for Bike East Bay through the VeloRaptors campaign.
The generosity of VeloRaptors members inspired so many people to give additional gifts and/or give more generously. This was the second year that members of the VeloRaptors joined together to provide a year end match for Bike East Bay, and the joint effort again was so impactful.
Your gifts and all of the funds we raised helps us mobilize by bike to build communities that are joyful, safe, and inclusive.Thanks and happy new year!
– Rebecca
Rebecca Saltzman (she/her)
Development Director
Bike East Bay
Great turnout as VeloRaptors celebrated the end of summer with a picnic at Lafayette Reservoir on September 8. Thanks to Pauline for organizing and David K for cooking up a fabulous main course, and everyone else for their usual tasty contributions. VeloRaptors definitely know how to put out a good spread.
On Sunday, May 12 the VeloRaptors again participated in the BORP Revolution ride in Santa Rosa, making this the 18th straight year of participation and fund raising.
BORP provides recreation and competition opportunities for disabled children and adults, including adaptive bicycling, wheelchair basketball, and soccer, etc. VeloRaptor participation started in 2006 when the board of the VeloRaptors learned that thieves had stolen specially adapted bikes and trikes from the BORP facility.
Since then, VeloRaptors have participated in every Revolution ride and this year the club’s fundraising total was the third highest amongst the participating teams. We raised nearly $21,000 through 83 contributions. This included funds raised by our Annual Bike Wash event on May 4 hosted by Pauline Fox, as well as registrations from 5 riders, and pledges made to individual riders. Moreover, Steve Goldenberg was the second highest individual fund raiser for the Revolution. Overall, our contribution to the Revolution ride formed a significant portion of the total amount ($240,000) raised by the event.
Riders this year were L-R, Steve Goldenberg, Steve Blair, Pauline Fox, Paul Lettieri, Fred Morse.
The letter below illustrates the appreciation the BORP organization has for the VeloRaptors.
May 29, 2024
Dear (VeloRaptor):
Thank you so much for being part of this year’s Revolution Ride Roll and Stroll. We raised $80,000 more than last year! A huge factor was some stellar fundraising from teams, with two teams, Special Need for Speed and the VeloRaptors leading the way.
Although Special Need for Speed currently holds the lead at $26,459.19, that was with 28 members. In terms of per team member fundraising, the VeloRaptors soared! You all are true champions raising $20,718.72 through 83 donations, which combined with the team’s registration fees, brought in $20,918.72 in support of BORP.
The REV is our most important fundraiser of the year, supporting 20+ weekly programs across 10 adaptive sports and rec activities. Your fundraising keeps BORP going strong.
Once the pledges and sponsorships are fulfilled, we will have raised more than $240,000 — more the 20% over our goal. That makes a huge difference as we plan for our next fiscal year.
We hope you had a great time and are looking forward to next year. Stay tuned for an announcement about the date and location.
On behalf of the entire BORP community, thank you for all you have done to make the 22nd Annual Revolution Ride, Roll & Stroll a huge success!
In community,
Emily Seelenfreud
Executive Director
BORP Adaptive Sports and Recreation
3075 Adeline st., Suite 200
Berkeley, CA 94703
BORP (BAY AREA OUTREACH & RECREATION PROGRAM) • 3075 ADELINE STREET, SUITE 200 • BERKELEY, CA 94703
Tel: (510) 849-4663 Fax: (510) 849-4616 • Web: www.borp.org Email: info@borp.org Twitter: @borp.org
Hi Velos:We have great news. Bike East Bay had a “hugely successful” end-of-the-year fundraising campaign, in the words of Rebecca Saltzman, Development Director. She said, “The match from VeloRaptors inspired folks to give additional gifts and/or give more generously.” During the 4 days from December 27-31, Bike East Bay received donations of $24,451, far exceeding the match of $17,250 contributed by individual VeloRaptor members.
We should all be proud that we were able to give such a boost to Bike East Bay. Our efforts help enable them to advocate for better and safer cycling infrastructure throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties and to offer educational programs and rides to the cycling community.
Thanks to all who contributed.
RideOn,
TomW
Ride On for 2024!
For several years the VeloRaptors have supported BORP, an organization which provides sports, recreation and fitness programming for children, youth and adults with physical disabililities and visual impairments. On Saturday, May 13, BORP held its 21st annual Ride, Roll and Stroll in Santa Rosa. We are proud to say that 11 VeloRaptors participated and collectively raised $23,600, smashing our goal of $15,000. The ride this year was a memorial tribute for former team member Dennis Cathey. The team, headed up by team captain Randy Mellin, had several prodigious fundraisers on it, including one of the top 5, Steven Goldenberg. Altogether the team inspired 103 contributions to BORP.
You can learn more about the BORP organization at their website:
On Saturday, Sept 18, 10 VeloRaptors pedaled in support of BORP. Despite COVID interrupting the normal event for the second year, the group was able to raise over $12,000. These dollars go a long way in providing sports, recreation and fitness programs to people with physical disabilities, reaching over 1,000 folks in the Bay Area and beyond.
It was a beautiful day for the ride, with cool temperatures and the group completed a metric century. Their route circled the East Bay in a counter clockwise direction, starting in Moraga, riding down Redwood Road to Castro Valley, over the Dublin Grade to Pleasanton, up to San Ramon, Danville, Alamo and Walnut Creek, before working our way back to our starting point via Lafayette and Orinda. Post ride libations were enjoyed at the Canyon Brewery in Moraga.
To make the day truly special, the rain gods blessed them with a very tiny shower during the night.
The effort was led by co-captains Steve Goldenberg and Randy Mellin. Othe particpants were: Steve Blair, Tom Willging, Pauline Fox, Chris Scrivani, Howard Neal, Kathy Tate, Kevin McTighe, Robin Brumell, and our beloved SAG driver Dennis Cathey.
Here we are at the Valley Java Cafe in Castro Valley.
