| Somewhere Over the Rainbow... AIDSRide 2002 Sunday, March 10, 2002 |
| Somewhere Over the Rainbow... AIDSRide 2002 Sunday, March 10, 2002 |
Wisdom. Courage. Love. Home. Four values of Oz - as in the Wizard of Oz. This is what drives Team Oz, a group of mostly St Joan of Arc people who held the initial kickoff meeting for the 2002 Heartland AIDS Ride from Minneapolis to Chicago on July 22 through July 29.
On Sunday March 10, about 40 individuals met in the Community Room at REI in Bloomington to reminisce on previous rides and share information about this years ride. Fr. Jim Cassidy went over a brief history of the AIDS ride and St Joan’s involvement. This is the seventh year the ride will take place. Team Oz was started in the second year of the ride, when Fr Jim and Dan Chouinard rode a tandem bike on the 500-mile journey. The following year there were 6 members. The fourth year, the team grew to 28 members, and year five saw 72 members. Last year there were 105 Team Oz members.
After a short prayer led by Fr. Jim, Rita and Jeff Nohner related their experiences as first time participants in last year’s ride. Rita worked on the Traffic Crew and talked about the challenges and rewards of the long hard days. Jeff, as a rider, agreed with Rita on how hard and challenging the experience is. He found his capacity for love and appreciation for others increased as he met so many people who gave of themselves.
Rick Spaulding(right) presented a slide show from last year’s
ride. There were photos from team meetings, training
rides, the event registration, opening ceremonies,
each day of the ride, the closing ceremony and Team
Oz’s party after the event. It is said that a picture
is worth a thousand words and certainly each photo
told a story that elicited laughter, sighs, sadness,
excitement and remembrance.
Following the slide show, fundraising was discussed. Each rider is responsible to collect $2500 in donations in order to participate. The Heartland AIDS Ride event is organized and run by Pallotta TeamWorks, a for-profit company. Over the years, there has been debate over the use of a for-profit company that cuts into the percentage of monies collected for the beneficiaries - Open Arms and the many adult foster care homes of the Twin Cities. Currently the majority of the beneficiary’s budget comes from the proceeds of the ride.
Tom Cross spoke about a fundraising activity being planned. It will be a concert featuring George Maurer, along with a silent auction to be held Sunday, April 28 at the Airport Hilton. Funds raised from this activity, along with funds raised by crew members (optional) will help individual riders meet their $2500 goal to be eligible to ride.
After other brainstorming discussions on fundraising,
Paul Lipetzky(left) spoke about the training rides
scheduled. All training rides start at St. Joan’s and
are scheduled for the weekends. There is also the
possibility of having a 20 - 30 mile ride on
Wednesdays. In addition, a flat-fixing seminar will be
scheduled. Paul also informed the group that spin
classes are free for registered riders at Bally’s St.
Louis Park and Richfield locations, and at the Hyatt
Regency.
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"Team Oz" is ever evolving! In its brief lifetime the group has become more than any
of us would have imagined two years ago. Today it can be seen as a cohesive
group of people working on many fronts to battle HIV/AIDS throughout the
world.
I look at fellow parishioner Jeff Nohner using his computer skills to set up a
website for Team Oz. This site is intended to provide valuable information
to all concerning the team, thereby serving as a central resource,
everything from last minute changes in training ride schedules to group
photos to important communiqués. Jeff is the first to tell you that he is
presently not a polished webmaster. He is dedicated to the success of Team
Oz, though, and toward that end is "stretching his comfort zone." Team Oz
seems to inspire one to take risks and step out of one's comfort zone for a
greater good. The work of the Holy Spirit, perhaps?
I look at Team Oz members so touched by the AIDS epidemic that they've
traveled to Africa with the hope of initiating action leading to a greater
commitment by the world community to mobilize against this horrible disease.
Baby steps leading to ever growing strides.
The themes behind "Team Oz," love-courage-wisdom-home, excite in each one of
us feelings that allow us to stretch. (The Holy Spirit again?) Little did
any of us know, when we agreed on the name "Team Oz," how powerful the themes
behind that name would become for us. When we recently met and reflected on
last year's ride, these themes were mentioned and you sensed recommitment
by the team. Adults moved to make a difference in this world, in this
lifetime. The beneficiaries? All of us.
For more information about "Team Oz" contact Father Jim Cassidy. Join us.
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