Club bikes to raise money for local autistic boy
USU students and community members rode bikes and listened to music as part of a charity fundraiser to raise money for a local boy and his family Saturday.
At the event called Psyched to Bike, participants decorated bicycles and rode them on a short course starting in Merlin Olsen park and ending at Citrus and Sage, a café near the intersection of 100 E. and Federal Avenue.
After the ride members of Uncommon Collective, a work-study program under USU’s Access and Diversity Center, played folk music on the café’s patio. Uncommon Collective sponsored the event with the help of the USU Hip-Hop Club.
Money was raised to help the family of a boy with severe autism buy a bike trailer for transportation. Access and Diversity Center Program Coordinator Todd Milovich said he didn’t want to give too many details about the family, and throughout the event the boy was referred to by his first name.
“Daniel is an 11-year-old boy with severe Autism,” Milovich said. “He is also a very big 11-year-old boy; he weighs 140 pounds. His family doesn’t really have any money, and they don’t have a car.”
Daniel’s mother has tried using the bus system, but finds it difficult for her family’s needs, Milovich said. A trailer that Daniel can ride in would be an effective solution, he added.
“A trailer is a lot of money, though,” Milovich said. Regarding the donations from Saturday’s event, he said, “We got a start on it, at least.”
Uncommon Collective plans usually four large events a year and gives students the opportunity to work with kids in local schools, Milovich said. The program is based on the United Nation’s Delcaration of Human Rights, focusing on the right to education, the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to participate in the community, Milovich said.
“It’s a thing that’s supposed to be taught in schools, but it’s not,” Milovich said, about the declaration.
Milovich said along with the rights outlined in the declaration come responsibilites.
“You have rights, but you have to act as well,” he said “We’re going to teach the students how to act — how to organize events, how to participate in the community, how to be part of everything.”
Mowefa Eastmond, a student involved with Uncommon Collective, said he used his role as president of the USU Hip-Hop Club to promote the event. The club often participates in charity events, and he thought Saturday’s event had a good turnout, he said.
Eastmond also participated in the event’s music, improvising rap lyrics to Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Katie Harker, a sophomore and the treasurer for the Hip-Hop Club, attended Psyched to Bike with her family. Harker said she liked the setting for the event’s live music.
“I like things that are intimate, where it’s just like it’s not a big concert scene,” Harker said.
The music also helped attract people to the charity fundraiser, she said. People passing by the café would stop, listen to the music, and possibly learn about Daniel and the fundraiser.
Uncommon Collective found out about Daniel through Genevieve Borrego, the owner of Citrus and Sage, Milovich said. Borrego often works with Uncommon Collective and lets its organizers use her café for events.
Borrego said she met Daniel’s mother through the daycare both mothers use, and she wanted to help. Helping out in a community is important, Borrego added.
“Wherever I live, that’s my community. Whether it’s in Logan or another state, that’s where I put all my focus,” Borrego said.
She said when she has an idea for an event to help the community, she usually contacts Milovich and Uncommon Collective.
“He really, really has a passion and a desire to help these kids,” Borrego said.
Donations for Daniel are still being accepted at Citrus and Sage.
– steve.kent@aggiemail.usu.edu