Fraternity members making cross-country cycling trek stop in Columbia

The Columbia area in recent months is turning out to be a destination for people making cross country journeys and other long treks.

There was Holden Ringer in November, who stopped in Columbia as he was walking from Washington state to Washington, D.C. Then last month disability advocate Ian Mackay took a journey on the Katy Trail from St. Louis to Kansas City, taking a brief respite at the North Jefferson Trailhead in Holts Summit.

On Thursday, it was another group's turn to stop in Columbia. Members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, taking a cycling "Journey of Hope" from the west coast to the east coast to raise awareness and money for people with disabilities, conducted a friendship visit with members of Special Olympics of Missouri at Love Coffee, 15 Business Loop 70 E. Along with stopping for drinks, a chance to eat some ice cream from the University of Missouri's Buck's Ice Cream Shop, fraternity brothers played card and board games with Special Olympics athletes.

While college fraternities and sororities often partner with philanthropic organizations for fundraisers, Pi Kappa Phi has its own philanthropic arm, The Ability Experience, aimed at aiding those with disabilities, said Zach Martin Brown, spokesperson with the team cycling from Seattle to Washington, D.C. The other team started in San Francisco.

"It is incredible being able to feel like you really are making an impact and people are making an impact on you," Brown said, adding the Seattle to D.C. crew averages about 90 miles per day. After the Columbia visit, the crew went on to Union on July 19 and then spent the entire weekend in St. Louis. They are expected to be in Washington, D.C., by Aug. 10. "It's a physical competition and a mental competition for us."

The roughly 30-person crew visiting Love Coffee were welcomed by Karen Morgan, the nonprofit café's trainer and community relations liaison. Morgan is a retired special education teacher. The café employs those with intellectual or developmental disabilities so that they can receive job training in a real-life environment to hopefully go on to find meaningful and lasting employment elsewhere, she said. Love Coffee was founded in 2017 by Special Olympics of Missouri coach Chuck Crews, who still serves on the café board.

"Everybody can do something if they are given the skills to do it with," Morgan said, adding the skills learned by employees help build their confidence and skills for a transition to a different job in the community.

This was a first-time friendship visit to Love Coffee. Arrangements were made after the philanthropy contacted Special Olympics of Missouri, Crews said. There is a Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at the University of Missouri, so that is where crew members first stopped and spent the night before continuing the journey July 19. The friendship visit definitely was important, Tyler Armstrong, adaptive recreation specialist with Columbia Parks and Recreation and Special Olympics of Missouri.

"Not only do we focus on sports and healthy lifestyles, but also a healthy social atmosphere that they do not get very often. So, when there are events like this, we always try to make sure we show our support. It is about making everyone included with whatever activities are going on," he said.

Fraternity members raising funds for The Ability Experience

Pi Alpha members have to raise at least $6,500 toward The Ability Experience's overall $500,000 goal. The cycling fundraiser supports organization programs and its broader mission "of enhancing the lives of people with disabilities," a news release noted.

One of the team members, Wayne Burger, from Fairfax, Virginia, studying exercise science at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, has raised the most out of all participating fraternity brothers in the the U.S. On the day the crew pulled into Columbia, which happened to coincide with his birthday, he hit his $20,000 personal fundraising goal. He started fundraising roughly a year ago and reached the standard fundraising goal fairly quickly, he said.

"I realized with the amount of connections I had, I could reach further. So, I aimed for $10,000 and hit that relatively quickly. So I said, 'All right, let's go for $12,000,'" Burger said, adding he kept hitting goal after goal once he started making an even more concerted effort starting in January.

Fundraising had plateaued at roughly $15,000, but he kept pushing eventually raising $17,000, but he wanted to do even more.

"I eventually hit the ($20,000) goal," he said.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on X, formerly Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.