Editor’s note: Over the years, Mike Sweeney has embarked on many strenuous adventures, in order to raise awareness and money for The Arc of Amador and Calaveras. The arduous journey outlined below is Sweeney’s latest, and he will be telling our readers about the joys and pains along the way.Â
At the recent Journey of Hope picnic for the inspiring PUSH America cyclists, Ledger Dispatch sports editor Jerry Budrick and I shared a pleasant lunch.
As we watched camaraderie unfold among the people we serve and the cyclists, talk turned to summer plans. I told him that I was planning another hike to raise much-needed funds for our nonprofit, The Arc of Amador and Calaveras  … More
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Surfers For Autism returns to St. Augustine Beach on Aug. 27 for the second consecutive year, and the organization needs this community to step-up to the plate in a big way.
Far more than a beach party, SFA events bind communities and change lives in a manner that defies description. 2010 was a banner year for Surfers For Autism that eclipsed expectations on a number of levels, organizers report. Close to 2,000 children on the autism spectrum surfed in coastal communities from Deerfield Beach to Jacksonville Beach  … More
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Jamie Mitchell, the 9x Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championship winner, and fellow elite paddler Jackson English have joined forces to raise money for SurfAid International in this year’s grueling 32-mile (51.5 km) Hawaiian race, which will be contested on Sunday 31 July.
Mitchell, 34, from Currumbin, Queensland, Australia, is shooting for 10 wins in a row across the Ka’iwi Channel, which is one of the most challenging stretches of water in the world. English, 36, who is SurfAid’s biggest individual fundraiser, has  … More
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Jeff Martin is a below-the-knee amputee who was stricken by a bone infection in his left foot. It’s his first year cycling in Amputees Across America.
Martin, 52, got into cycling, triathalons and endeavored to join the amputee group as a way to make a difference in the lives of others.
“I started out obsessed with the ride – I wanted to ride all the miles,” he said. “But after our first hospital visit, I realized that the ride is nothing compared to what I can do for the patients  … More
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