Fuller Center Bike Adventure cyclists to finish cross-country journey in Sebago Lakes Region

By Masha Yurkevich

After pedaling thousands of miles across the United States over the span of 10 weeks, cyclists participating in the Fuller Center Bike Adventure’s Northern Tier ride will celebrate the end of their journey in the Sebago Lakes Region while giving back to local homeowners in need.

Cyclists participating in the Fuller Center Bike Adventure's
Northern Tier ride will celebrate the end of their journey
across America starting in Oregon and ending in Maine
while giving back to local homeowners in need in the
Sebago Lakes Region. Cyclists are expected to arrive at'
Saint Joseph's College on Aug. 6. COURTESY PHOTO      

Some 25 riders who departed from Oregon earlier this summer are scheduled to arrive at Saint Joseph's College of Maine in Standish on Thursday, Aug. 6, where they will spend two nights before completing home repair projects in Windham, Standish and Raymond and finishing their cross-country ride with a trip to Portland Head Light on Aug. 8 to dip their bicycle tires in the Atlantic Ocean.

Along the way on their journey across America, these cyclists have stopped in communities across the country to repair and renovate homes while raising money and awareness for The Fuller Center for Housing, whose mission is to eliminate poverty housing by building and repairing simple, decent homes.

"The Northern Tier is special because they are ending their ride in Maine," said Diane Bruni, a founding member, board chair and president of the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing. "The ride has been challenging with riding 100 miles on some days through the Rockies and the smoke-filled days through the Midwest."

At Fuller Center chapters across the country, cyclists have completed projects ranging from replacing roofs, ramps and steps to yard work for homeowners in need.

"In most communities, a church serves as the host," Bruni said. "The cyclists sleep on the floor. It is not a vacation."

The Fuller Center Bike Adventure is celebrating nearly two decades of fundraising rides, with next year marking its 20th anniversary. Cyclists can choose from one-week, two-week or 10-week rides held throughout the year, with fundraising supporting home building and repair projects both in the United States and around the world.

For many participants, Bruni said, the experience is about much more than bicycling across the country.

"For many cyclists, it is a way to see the country, but not by car. It is a very different experience," she said. "The relationships with other cyclists are lifelong. The tie to fulfilling the mission by giving back through raising funds and working on projects is very gratifying. Many cyclists return year after year."

Hosting the final stop of the ride is a significant undertaking for the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center, which has been planning the event for months. This marks the third time the Northern Tier ride has concluded here in Maine. Saint Joseph's College is providing lodging, showers and transportation to project sites, allowing organizers to focus on preparing repair projects, purchasing materials and coordinating volunteers and meals.

"We are so appreciative of their willingness to be part of this community event," Bruni said.

On Aug. 7, cyclists and volunteers will complete four to five repair projects benefiting seniors and veterans throughout Windham, Standish and Raymond. Planned work includes replacing a roof for one family, repairing a deck and steps for another homeowner and clearing overgrown vines that have blocked windows at another home. Since its founding in 2018, the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center has helped 75 families and contributed more than 4,000 volunteer hours. The nonprofit focuses on assisting low-income older adults, veterans and people with disabilities to complete critical home repairs so that they can remain safely in their homes.

"Many people want to age in a place where they feel secure and have fond memories," Bruni said. "The challenge is needing home repairs for safety reasons, but they no longer can afford what is needed."

She said many of the homeowners the organization serves live alone without nearby family members to help, while affordable rentals are scarce and assisted living facilities often have lengthy waiting lists. Unlike a traditional charity model, families contribute toward the cost of materials through affordable payments over time in what the Fuller Center calls the “Greater Blessing” program.

"It is not a hand-out, but a hand-up," Bruni said. "The families help others."

Community members are invited to welcome the cyclists when they arrive at Saint Joseph's College between 2 and 4 p.m. on Aug. 6. Organizers will greet the riders with signs, balloons and snacks before hosting a Maine-themed welcome dinner that evening. The Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center is also seeking volunteers and donations of food for the cyclists' meals throughout the weekend, including the welcome dinner, a celebratory cookout on Aug. 7 and a Maine blueberry pancake breakfast on Aug. 8.

For more information and to donate, please visit the website at sebagofullerhousing.org. Bruni said community support is essential to making the event – and the work of the organization throughout the year – possible. <

Fuller Center cyclists pedal 3,900 miles to assist Windham resident with ALS

Fuller Center for Housing cyclists gather before a leg of their
3,900-mile coast-to-coast journey that took six weeks to
complete this summer. While in Windham, the riders helped
build a new porch for a resident who has ALS and assisted
in making other home improvements for local seniors as
volunteers for the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center
for Housing. COURTESY PHOTO       

By Ed Pierce

It’s said that when you give of yourself, that is when you truly give. For 21 cyclists completing a 3,900 mile ride from Seaside, Oregon to Maine on behalf of the Fuller Center for Housing last weekend, they gave everything they possibly could by finishing their journey.

Fuller Center cyclists rode from Fryeburg to St. Joseph’s College in Standish on Thursday, July 28 and then enjoyed a police escort as they made their way to an overnight stop at the North Windham Union Church. There they teamed up with a group of volunteers from the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing on Friday, July 29 for a building project to add a new front porch for John and Linda Gregoire of Windham and other projects.

John Gregoire is wheelchair bound and paralyzed and is unable to speak. He communicates through a laptop and has been suffering from ALS for the past 15 years. In creating the new porch for the family, Fuller Center cyclists and local volunteers updated the Gregoire home to make it safer and more accessible for John, who is now able to roll out onto the porch for fresh air when needed.

“Thank you to the Sebago Fuller Housing Foundation for helping those who can no longer care for their homes and just need an extra heart and hand to bring their home back to its glory,” said Linda Gregoire. “All with consideration of John’s needs, nothing has been overlooked to make this project safe and comfortable for him. This group has given us more than a porch with a second means of egress, they’ve given us a feeling of being cared for and loved. John and I are beyond grateful, humbled and in awe of the kindness showered on us.”

In all, the cyclists and Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center volunteers worked on eight different housing projects while in Windham before the remaining riders departed for Portland on the final leg of their six-week cross-country ride on Saturday, July 30.

In reaching the Atlantic Ocean, the cyclists wrapped up a coast-to-coast adventure that spanned 14 different northern-tier states and included visits to all of the Great Lakes and an array of locations such as Glacier National Park in Montana, Niagara Falls in New York and Lake Champlain in Vermont.

In Burlington, Vermont, Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center President Diane Dunton Bruni of Windham joined the group of cross-country cyclists and rode with them on the final trek over to Maine.

The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure was founded in 2008 as a way to raise funds for The Fuller Center for Housing’s work of partnering with families in need to help them have simple, decent places to live through home repairs and new home construction – through dozens of Fuller Center covenant partners across the United States and in 20 different countries.

Since its inception, the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure has raised more than $3.8 million for the Fuller Center’s work through the years, including more than $500,000 raised in 2022. Riders also are instrumental in bringing attention and public awareness about the nonprofit’s work through speaking engagements, media coverage and simply by talking with people they meet along the way.

The Fuller Center for Housing was founded in 2005 by the late Millard Fuller, who also created the Habitat for Humanity International initiative. It seeks to end substandard housing and improve the lives of those who may never have owned a home. The group partners with local agencies and volunteers to build or repair homes with partner families who participate in the work and pay the costs forward on a no-profit, no-interest basis that they can afford.

During this year’s cross-country ride, the orange-clad cyclists participated in seven build days at stops they made at Fuller Center locations. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 80 Fuller Center sites, and the number continues to grow every year.

To learn more about project eligibility, to become an active volunteer or to make a charitable donation, visit the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing’s website at sebagofullerhousing.org, send an email to [email protected], or call 207-387-0855. <