Students, faculty to ‘bike to Uganda

Racers practicing for the Little 500 won’t be the only ones mounting Schwinn bicycles this week. In addition to the 300 competitors in the Little 500, students and faculty will get the chance to take part in a campus-wide fundraising event to “ride” 7,710 miles for impoverished children in sub-Saharan Africa.\nThe IU chapter of Building Tomorrow will host the first-ever “No Spandex Required” event today from noon until 8 p.m. Fifteen stationary Schwinn bicycles will be set up in Teter Quad, the Arboretum and Ballantine Hall. \nThe group hopes to have students, faculty and staff “ride” the 7,710 miles that lie between Bloomington and Kampala, Uganda. Riders are asked to make a minimum donation of $2 for every mile they ride. All money raised will go toward building a school in Kampala, said sophomore Maria Srour, the club’s co-founder and co-president. \nBuilding Tomorrow is a national organization that was founded in 2004 by Maria Srour’s brother, George Srour. George Srour spent the summer working as in intern for the United Nations and traveled to Uganda. Upon returning to the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where he was a student, he set a goal to raise $40,000 by Christmas. In December 2004, George Srour presented Meeting Point Kampala primary school with $45,000, Maria Srour said.\nSince then, Building Tomorrow has grown to become an independent, nonprofit organization and has chapters at more than 20 college campuses across the country, according to the Building Tomorrow Web site. \n“Our overall goal is to raise awareness for the cause, and second, to raise money for the school,” said sophomore Sheryl Sabandal, co-founder and co-president of the IU chapter. \nRiders are encouraged to sign up online, but walk-ups on the day of the event are still welcome. Maria Srour said registration information can be found by locating the event page on Facebook or by visiting the group’s Web site. \n“We’re trying to get people to sign up online simply because it will make it easier to keep track of,” Maria Srour said. “We also want people to sign up with groups of friends so we can block off locations for half hour periods of time.” \nThe group hopes to capitalize on the Little 500 traditions by adding an element of competition to the event. \n“We’ve set it up as a competition with greek houses, departments and dorms,” Sabandal said. “We want to raise money while still keeping that competitive edge.” \nThe event will come to a close in Dunn Meadow with an outdoor screening of the 1979 Little 500-inspired movie “Breaking Away.” All 15 bikes will be available from 8:30 p.m. until the movie ends, Maria Srour said.\nIf the minimum $2 donation is pledged and every mile is completed, the event will bring in more than $15,000 for the organization. However, group members aren’t expecting 100 percent success. \n“We’d be happy if we raised $10,000,” Sabandal said. “(The University of Virginia) held a similar event last year and raised something between $10,000 and $15,000. Our main goal is to raise more money each year.” \nThe group hopes the inaugural event will become an \nIU tradition.\n“I hope it becomes something that students look forward to each year,” said freshman Sarah Pennal said.\nThe group, which was founded in spring of last year, has already raised nearly $16,000 through small fundraisers and grants, according to an IU press release. Ultimately, the group must raise $35,000 to begin construction on a school in Kampala. \n“We want to build the IU Building Tomorrow Academy,” Maria Srour said. “The kids will wear cream and crimson uniforms. Little things like that create more of a feeling of ownership, and it doesn’t feel like you are just throwing money at something that you will have no connection to.” \nSoon, the IU chapter hopes to have its own school.\n“Other schools have successfully raised the $35,000, and I see no reason why IU can’t do it, too,” Sabandal said. \nMost of all, the group hopes to raise awareness for the cause and create an increased sense of motivation to help.\n“The way I see it, it doesn’t matter where these people are,” Maria Srour said. “People talk about the ‘Africa problem’ all the time, but (Building Tomorrow) goes about solving a problem in a very sustainable way. When it comes down to it, a lot of the problems people are facing in Uganda are a result of lack of education.”