Last year’s RAGBRAI fundraising ride for Build Our Ballpark was so successful (and fun) that we decided to do it again (clearly fun has a broad definition here, we’ll admit). So on July 24th, our eight member team will begin a seven-day, 454-mile bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. While we join the thousands of cyclists who ride for the great food, themed atmospheres and adrenaline rush, we have a different drive that we add to this historic bike ride… pedaling to raise money for America’s Great Pastime: Baseball.
Last year’s intrepid riders.
We will comprise Team BOB, a group organized by my 16-year-old son, Robert Hellman III. Robert created Team BOB last year as a fundraiser for Build Our Ballpark, an organization founded by my father, dedicated to providing today’s youth with baseball and softball ballparks in low-income communities. Last year, the ride raised more than $100,000 for the organization. And this year, our goal is to top that. Together, we will travel from Glendale in Western Iowa (near Omaha), through South Central Iowa, and will finish in Eastern Iowa by dipping our tires in the Mississippi at Davenport, Iowa.
We’ll put in the miles – can you throw in your support? We are once again asking our friends to support our effort by making tax-deductible pledges for each mile we ride for Build Our Ballpark (click here to do so).
In addition, during this year’s ride we also hope to take stock of the state of baseball in Iowa and the Midwest. While consuming our fair share of cherry pie and BBQ, we also plan to visit area baseball and softball fields, chat with kids throughout Iowa who are playing baseball and what the sport means to them, and maybe even get involved in some friendly competition on the fields. Stay tuned! A great ride for a great cause.
The mission of Build Our Ballpark is to improve the lives of underprivileged kids in largely low-income neighborhoods by providing the opportunity to play baseball and softball. Build Our Ballpark does this by helping ensure children have a quality place to play by providing assistance and rallying the support needed to build new ballparks and/or improve existing ballparks.
Every dollar we raise will go to building and rebuilding youth ballparks.
Won’t you please give us your support while we’re cycling across Iowa? Thank you! Hope you are having a great summer.
Best regards,
Bob Hellman
Build Our Ballpark Team
