Saturday, June 20 at 3 p.m.—RUTLAND— Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports and WEXP 101.5 FM will host a “drive-by donation Jam,” where folks from Rutland County can drive through and donate to each organization. Mac Janney, a blind athlete, and his guide, Frank Kelley, plus the station deejays will be logging miles for the virtual Vermont Adaptive Charity Ride, Walk, Run, Roll on stationary bikes outside of the studio.
Drive thru WEXP 101.5 Studios, located at the Vermont Farmers’ Food Center, 251 West St. in Rutland between 3 – 6 p.m. on June 20. Donations also will be accepted at the Farmers’ Market Food Pick-up from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Your donations will support Vermont’s largest adaptive sports organization and Rutland County/Killington Valley’s community radio station.
“Typically, this time of year, I bust out the mighty tandem to train for the Vermont Adaptive Charity Ride with my buddy and guide Frank Kelley,” said Mac Janney, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports’ development coordinator and an athlete who is blind. “Since we are practicing social distancing, tandem biking had to be put on hold. In the past, we’ve trained to ride 40 miles which takes about three and a half hours to complete. On Saturday, June 20, Frank and I will pedal the equivalent on stationary bikes during the Drive-by Donation Jam in hopes of helping to meet the organization’s $300,000 fundraising goal for this event.”
The 10th anniversary of the Vermont Adaptive Charity Ride was scheduled for June 20 at Long Trail Brewery, but due to the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic, Vermont Adaptive switched gears and made the event a virtual one instead. As a result, the virtual version invites not just cyclists and mountain bikers to participate, but also walkers, runners, horseback riders – anything to stay active while keeping the community health and safe – while still raising critical funds for the organization’s adaptive sports programming and athletes. Nearly 400 people are participating in the virtual event from more than 22 states across the country plus Ontario, Canada.
“We serve a vulnerable population who have been stuck inside during this pandemic,” said Erin Fernandez, executive director. “We anticipate an increase in programming demand due to the fact that the people we serve have had limited access to sports and recreation, and we’ll need to be able to provide that access more than ever in the coming months. These critical funds we raise now will allow us to be ready when we get the green light to begin programs again.”
The first 200 people to make a donation at the Drive-by Donation Jam will receive a special bag of goodies filled with sponsor samples like Cabot Cheese, stickers, Vermont Adaptive/Long Trail koozies, Clean Cause Yerba Mate beverages, Peoples United Bank lip balm and more. WEXP will live stream and Vermont Adaptive will host a special virtual happy hour on its Facebook channel from 3 – 6 p.m. as well featuring local music like Duane Carlton and The Wheel (Grateful Dead and Beyond).
For more information about the charity ride visit charityride.vermontadaptive.org
