Bike for Kicks
By Megan Price
Unique fundraiser supports scholarships and youth While bicycling and soccer may not have much in common at first glance, a unique fundraiser last fall brought the two sports together for a worthy cause. The Bike for Kicks bicycle tour, held in September, attracted nearly 100 bicyclists from across the region, who hit the road to raise funds for the Lander University men’s soccer scholarship program and the Greenwood YMCA Partners with Youth program. Cyclists of all ages and skill levels were able to choose from flatto-rolling routes of six, 30 and 62.5 miles, which wound through Greenwood County and surrounding areas. The ride began at Lander’s Jeff May Complex. The fundraiser was the brainchild of Greenwood resident Richard Senatore and Lander Men’s Soccer Head Coach Van Taylor. Senatore, an avid bicyclist himself, said he was looking for a way to give back to the community following his retirement from sales and marketing with IBM. He reached out to his friend, Taylor, for ideas. “We both love sports and I asked Van if there was anything I could do to help the program. We came up with the concept of the
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Lander Magazine • Spring 2014
bicycle fundraiser benefiting the scholarship program,” Senatore said. But, he added, Taylor and the team wanted to give back to the community as well. They selected another charity, the YMCA youth program, to receive half of the funds raised. “In the Lander Athletics program, there is a big emphasis on giving back, and this was something we felt was a unique way to do that,” said Taylor, who also got the soccer players involved with the event’s planning and marketing. “The community has been so generous to us. We wanted to do something that went back to the kids.” The community’s support helped make the first Bike for Kicks a success, Senatore said, adding that the event raised more than $7,000. Along with the cyclist participants, local businesses got behind the concept. GwdToday and Sykes Enterprises Inc. served as gold
Top: About 100 cyclists took part in the first-ever Bike for Kicks bicycle tour, benefiting the Lander men’s soccer scholarship program and the Greenwood YMCA’s Partners in Youth program. The event, held in September, began at Lander’s Jeff May Complex. – Photo by Russell Martin