By Michael Clemons | Founder
We cannot be more thankful for the continued support of Knights in White Lycra. We recall the first phone call when we were introduced. We were at Ueno Zoo and she said, “they are a group who wear white lycra and ride bikes to raise money for charity". I recall saying, "Ok, this should be interesting". We met in 2017 before the NPO was official and then in 2018 after we were official, were asked to give an update of the NPO.
We had no idea the support, energy and funding that would go on over the next few years. We had no idea that they actually do not wear White Lycra. I do not believe anyone has an idea what goes into the preparation, dedication and commitment every rider has to make it through the annual 500km 4 day ride.
2020 threw everyone for a loop. That did not stop anyone's commitment to GET FIT AND GIVE BACK. The group pivoted and made the events more online friendly, increased the banter and the challenges via STRAVA and Facebook posts. Rob Williams did not stop bringing on donors and corporate sponsors who did not let the pandemic get in their way of support.
The laughter, the sweat and sometimes the tears cannot be explained until you click in and pedal. You see the beauty of the country from the mountains to the river sides to all the hidden paradises on a bike.
The other beauty of the model of KIWL where they help fledgling NPOs to get a foot up is that it is not just a "one off" event. In turn they are able to see the 19 year old who was offered a job by a huge tech company yesterday. They are able to hear not only from the girl who started her new job on April 1st due to the network of KIWL but also the president of the company singing her praises in a separate letter. As well as most high school graduates in the homes we support in Tohoku, Tokyo and Nagoya all either found a job or have continued their education.
During the pandemic the children who graduated high school and went on to university were soon sent back home to study online and many were stumped. They did not have their own device to participate in online classes. The joy of sending them a new laptop so they did not miss a beat is amazing. The young adult whose PC blows up and they have no one to turn to as there are no family members supporting them and YouMeWe (which is what the name stands for) is there for them.
We have seen so many smiles on the kids faces who we invested in or shared with or helped have an experience for the first time. It is amusing when you are sitting next to a child at a computer and reaching over to help them key in the code of a line and they smack your hand away as they want to be able to do it by themselves.
When younger kids get it faster than the older kids and help them. When the teachers are learning from the kids. When we have high school kids in American teaching high school kids in Tokyo. Volunteers in Sendai teaching online to all homes that can connect. Ambassadors who have aged out of the homes running their own coding, Microsoft certification and IchigoJam sessions for the younger kids.
This work is never done.
Making sure children are connected in this information society we now live in is essential.
Your support in helping us do the best we can to help these kids get on with it and do the best they can is immeasurable in written terms.
Thank you again for your continued support and we pedal on in June's 500km 5,000m challenge.
Regards,
Michael Clemons
Founder
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
