2 WVU students cycling across the country for Journey of Hope

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Two WVU students, who are both approaching their fifth year with the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, are currently on a 67-day journey from one side of the country to the other for one reason—hope.

On June 5, Austin Brown and James Carte began their journey from Seattle, WA to Washington, D.C. as part of the Journey of Hope , which is put on by The Ability Experience , a philanthropic initiative set up by their fraternity, Pi Alpha Phi.

Brown said that the purpose of the Journey of Hope is to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities by cycling across the country and stopping at disability resource centers across the way. While at each center, Brown and his fellow cyclists spend time with the clients.

According to Brown, Pi Kappa Phi and The Ability Experience are one and the same. “They’re [a] completely conjoined organization and being a Pi Kap kind of just feels natural to me because we’re kind of all about The Ability Experience—all about helping the community of people with disabilities.”

Brown and Carte were in Indianapolis, IN as of July 26—the 52nd day of their journey. 12 News spoke with the pair over the phone with Brown saying that the journey has been amazing so far and that it’s the best thing he’s ever done in his life.

“What motivated me was the opportunity to give back and kind of push myself,” said Brown. “And also [to] try to be a better person for a community of people who really deserve it.

“The purpose for me is to kind of give the support to people with disabilities that I think they deserve,” said Carte. He added that he grew up in a household with people who have disabilities, so this initiative was particularly important to him.

Carte told 12 News that he actually learned how to ride a bike for this trip, which he said has been tough for him both physically and mentally. However, he feels that this trip has helped him appreciate all of the different organizations they’ve had the chance to visit so far including Outside the Box and Noble, Inc. in Indianapolis.

“I think just these small experiences we’ve had throughout these 52 days, I’ve really kind of amounted to a great deal of growth in me,” Carte said. “Having that background information, being able to actually…be human and you know, give respect and love to everyone–regardless of their background.”

On average, Brown and Carte spend about seven to eight hours each day biking, but Carte said that some days they’ve cycled for as long as 12 hours. About every 10 miles or every hour, there are crew vans that the students can stop by to receive “power snacks” such as Gatorade, granola bars, water, etc.

“So we’re very well supported,” said Carte. “The safety nets for us on this ride are amazing, and I can’t imagine doing this trip without them.”

While preparing for this trip, Carte said that his goal was to raise $7,500 for a bike incentive offered by the Ability Experience and Pi Kappa Phi. He explained that this bike incentive would allow participants to receive a free bike if they raised the money, which he says helped him a lot due to not having a bike before embarking on this journey.

Brown’s goal is to raise $9,000 throughout his journey, but he said that the goal for the organization is around $750,000. “Just being able to raise that money and spread awareness through each of these participants, but also giving grants to these organizations that help these people that do the work every day is kind of the way for advocacy,” he added.

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