In each of the past two years, University students “biked” about 7,354 miles to Uganda to raise money for the construction of schools in that African country. This year, though, what once was a leisurely trip in the Amphitheater will be a friendly race against Virginia Tech.
The University’s traditional in-state rival recently agreed to “race” the University as part of Building Tomorrow’s Bike to Uganda charity event, said third-year student Sarah Wade, president of the University’s Building Tomorrow chapter. According to the organization’s Web site, Building Tomorrow currently has more than 15 chapters at colleges and universities across the United States. Chapters are responsible for raising money to build Ugandan schools, which cost about $45,000 to construct.
Past years’ University-based efforts allowed for the construction of the Building Tomorrow Academy Gita. Now, the University and Virginia Tech are both seeking to raise funds; the University will be participating in the nation-wide event for the third time, while Virginia Tech will be making its Bike to Uganda debut.
Students from the two schools will compete to collectively bike the distance from their respective university to Uganda’s capital city Kampala, Wade said. The race was created to encourage students from both schools to take part in the charity.
The race will be a “really exciting and productive way to use competition in a friendly way between the two colleges in order to raise money for schools,” Wade said.
Allison Jarnigan, the director of Poverty Awareness Coalition for Equality — which is coordinating the event in Blacksburg — said former University student Maggie Kirkpatrick helped establish the event at Virginia Tech.
The event is an effective way of making potential changes and raising awareness about the issue, Kirkpatrick said. Organizers hope that the new “race” agreement will “promote a partnership between both groups” and continue in the future.
“We’re all working towards a common cause,” Jarnigan said.
Wade also said she hopes to continue the University’s success at publicizing and raising funds for the event.
“We’re hoping to raise enough for second school funded by [the] U.Va. chapter of Building Tomorrow,” Wade said.
Though the upcoming competition’s logistics have yet to be fully determined, she noted that the University may hold an early advantage: Virginia Tech’s participating students will have to bike a slightly longer distance and will have two fewer stationary bikes on which to do so.
University and Virginia Tech students will “race” March 30 to April 3.
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