How far would you go to help someone in need? A bag of groceries, a tank of gas, a few extra dollars? Diane Dunton Bruni was willing to ride 488 miles through Florida on a bicycle as part of the Fuller Center Bike Adventure to raise funds to eradicate poverty housing.
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| Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing's President Diane Dunton Bruni of Windham recently completed a 488-mile bike ride through Florida to raise money to eradicate poverty housing. She rode as part of a group traveling down the east coast of Florida from just south of Orlando to the southernmost part of the United States in Key West. COURTESY PHOTO |
“We are connected to a National Fuller Center in Americus, Georgia,” says Bruni. “The Fuller Center for Housing was started in 2005 by the former founder of Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller. He left Habitat in 2004 to get back to the grass roots philosophy of building and repairing homes. He called it Theology of the Hammer.”
This was the fourth time Bruni has been part of the Fuller Center Bike Adventure.
“The Fuller Center has rides in different areas of the country and one that is cross country every year. I did the last week of the cross-country trip in July of 2022 from Burlington, Vermont to Windham, Maine. In 2023, I biked the Tour de Florida west coast and the East Coast ride from Tybee Island, Georgia to Wilmington, North Carolina. This year, the Tour de Florida was on the east coast of Florida starting just south of Orlando to Key West.”
Even though the ride was in Florida, it was far from a vacation.
“Every ride keeps a rigorous schedule,” says Bruni. “We are up at 6 in the morning after a night sleeping on thin mattresses, pack our gear and get it to the support van by 6:30, eat breakfast and clean our host church by 7:30 a.m. We circle up and hear about the route for the day, then someone in the group shares a devotional, a prayer is said for our safety, and we are off. The days average ride is 65 to 70 miles. The support vans stop every 20 miles to offer snacks and water or Gatorade.”
After they arrive at their next location, the riders unpack the van, get escorted to showers, share in a community dinner and then do it all again the next day.
There were 34 riders on this year’s ride.
“It is not the ride,” says Bruni, “It is the experience and the people you meet that you are riding with or on teams with or sharing some down time with during the course of the adventure.”
For Bruni, it is listening to people’s life stories, their joys and their hardships. It is listening to their faith stories and how God has shown up in their lives.
Some people ride because it is an inexpensive way to see the country, but many people are changed by the ride. “I have lifelong friendships from the rides I have been on,” she says.
The goal of the ride is to raise funds to eradicate poverty housing. There are 95 Fuller Centers in the United States and 20 global sites.
“During the ride, there are always days when we work on building a home or repairing a home," says Bruni. “This becomes a shared experience and riders see the true impact of what the Fuller Center is all about. My faith in God is always renewed by the connections I have with the people we meet and strangers along the way. We rode in rain, thunderstorms, wind, and nice weather but we all looked after each other. If someone stops, we make sure we do not pass the person without making sure they are okay. Strangers listen to our story and are in awe of what we do. We are so divided today and yet but having a shared experience and listening to each other, we are connected. As one of my very good cycling friends told me on my very first ride, ‘It is not about the ride, it is about the people you ride with and meet along the way.’”
Bruni tries to stay in shape by riding her road bike year-round, even during the winter in Windham.
“I had foot surgery on Sept. 7, so I had not been on my bike since Sept. 6, the day before my surgery,” she says. “I did strength training. I have to be honest, my foot was in pain the whole ride. I persevered though and completed the whole 488 miles.”
To date, Bruni has raised $3,000 this year for materials for home repairs in the Sebago Lakes Region community.
“We are in Windham, Standish and Raymond,” she says. “All of the funds I raise stay local. We are an all-volunteer organization repairing homes for seniors and veterans. Last year, we worked on over 15 projects to help people in our community stay safe in their homes.”
The January Tour de Florida is the first ride of each year. There are multiple rides from January until October across the country. While Bruni will not ride again this year, she will ride next year in some part of the country that she has not seen before.
Bruni has always been active with nonprofits. She is an author, entrepreneur, photographer, and artist. She is also a former Board volunteer and Chair of the Good Shepherd Food Bank, a volunteer for Junior Achievement of Maine, Relay for Life and the Dempsey Center.
She is married to Jeff Bruni and the couple makes her home on the shores of Sebago Lake with their two dogs, Mia and Charlie. <
“Every ride keeps a rigorous schedule,” says Bruni. “We are up at 6 in the morning after a night sleeping on thin mattresses, pack our gear and get it to the support van by 6:30, eat breakfast and clean our host church by 7:30 a.m. We circle up and hear about the route for the day, then someone in the group shares a devotional, a prayer is said for our safety, and we are off. The days average ride is 65 to 70 miles. The support vans stop every 20 miles to offer snacks and water or Gatorade.”
After they arrive at their next location, the riders unpack the van, get escorted to showers, share in a community dinner and then do it all again the next day.
There were 34 riders on this year’s ride.
“It is not the ride,” says Bruni, “It is the experience and the people you meet that you are riding with or on teams with or sharing some down time with during the course of the adventure.”
For Bruni, it is listening to people’s life stories, their joys and their hardships. It is listening to their faith stories and how God has shown up in their lives.
Some people ride because it is an inexpensive way to see the country, but many people are changed by the ride. “I have lifelong friendships from the rides I have been on,” she says.
The goal of the ride is to raise funds to eradicate poverty housing. There are 95 Fuller Centers in the United States and 20 global sites.
“During the ride, there are always days when we work on building a home or repairing a home," says Bruni. “This becomes a shared experience and riders see the true impact of what the Fuller Center is all about. My faith in God is always renewed by the connections I have with the people we meet and strangers along the way. We rode in rain, thunderstorms, wind, and nice weather but we all looked after each other. If someone stops, we make sure we do not pass the person without making sure they are okay. Strangers listen to our story and are in awe of what we do. We are so divided today and yet but having a shared experience and listening to each other, we are connected. As one of my very good cycling friends told me on my very first ride, ‘It is not about the ride, it is about the people you ride with and meet along the way.’”
Bruni tries to stay in shape by riding her road bike year-round, even during the winter in Windham.
“I had foot surgery on Sept. 7, so I had not been on my bike since Sept. 6, the day before my surgery,” she says. “I did strength training. I have to be honest, my foot was in pain the whole ride. I persevered though and completed the whole 488 miles.”
To date, Bruni has raised $3,000 this year for materials for home repairs in the Sebago Lakes Region community.
“We are in Windham, Standish and Raymond,” she says. “All of the funds I raise stay local. We are an all-volunteer organization repairing homes for seniors and veterans. Last year, we worked on over 15 projects to help people in our community stay safe in their homes.”
The January Tour de Florida is the first ride of each year. There are multiple rides from January until October across the country. While Bruni will not ride again this year, she will ride next year in some part of the country that she has not seen before.
Bruni has always been active with nonprofits. She is an author, entrepreneur, photographer, and artist. She is also a former Board volunteer and Chair of the Good Shepherd Food Bank, a volunteer for Junior Achievement of Maine, Relay for Life and the Dempsey Center.
She is married to Jeff Bruni and the couple makes her home on the shores of Sebago Lake with their two dogs, Mia and Charlie. <
