SMART Ride Celebrates Million Dollar Moment
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hey trained. They raised money. They rode. And rode and rode and then rode some more. The hundreds of riders, along with invaluable volunteers, made the 19th iteration of the SMART Ride a milliondollar success.
total. “We were at $988,000. So I went on stage and told the crowd that if they promised to raise another $12,000 by the end of the year, we would announce a million dollars.” The crowd, which was simultaneously pumped up and exhausted from the ride, rose to the challenge.
The annual ride from Miami to Key West was the weekend before Thanksgiving, but the proceeds raised were just given out during a ceremony/party at Hunter’s Nightclub in mid-January. South Florida’s SMART Ride is the second largest AIDS bicycle ride in the country and the only one that returns 100% of money raised to HIV/ AIDS services in Florida.
They cheered their approval and then followed up on their promise. Weinzimer told OutClique the million-dollar goal was reached and surpassed quickly. At the January event, the money raised was given out to six benefiting organizations: A.H. Monroe, Broward House, Pridelines, Compass, Miracle of Love, and Epic. Weinzimer holds back about ten percent as an emergency fund. The 10% Lifeline fund is distributed throughout the year when an organization has an unforeseen expenditure for a critical service. This year, Pet Project and SunServe benefitted from that program.
Raising more than a million dollars is a huge success, but it almost didn’t happen. At the closing ceremonies in Key West, SMART Ride founder Glen Weinzimer saw the
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