Sponsors
It’s easy to take sponsors for granted in this commercial and hyper labeled world. It is also hard to ever give them proper due. All of these people and organizations were generous and inspired with their knowledge, funding, services and goods. Some are large organizations and some are very small. We deeply appreciate the efforts of each and every one.
Paul and Phyllis Fireman of the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation. Here are a couple of people who have deployed their good fortune to solve social problems in a quiet and generous way. They have been working on the objective of ending family homelessness for years. They are our anchor sponsor and simply wanted to give visibility and voice to the availability of solutions to the problem of family homelessness. It is through their generosity that One Family developed the Scholars model. http://ppffound.org
The following additional sponsors are listed in alphabetical order.
Arcade Snacks
Assos
Belmont Wheelworks
CFDynamics
DMSE Sports
Nicole Freedman
Garmin
Louder Than Words
MonkeyMedia Software
Oakley
refine + focus
Trek
UPS
Arcade Snacks Is a custom roasting company specializing in Nuts, Dried Fruit, Snacks, and Trail Mixes. It is a local, family owned company which insists on personal supervision, freshness and quality from selection and processing of ingredients to hand-packaging. Dancing Deer has been working with this excellent all-natural nuts and dried fruits from Arcade for years. In a heartbeat they offered to provide the decorating materials for our Gingerbread House decorating parties along the route and shipped us pounds of very yummy and healthy supplies. www.arcadesnacks.com (return to Sponsors list)
Assos Assos of Switzerland takes pride in developing cycling clothing for the most discerning cyclists, pros as well as serious recreational riders. Developers of the first lycra cycling garments, Assos has always been a leader in engineering and innovation. This same passion is evident in their support of cycling endevours that will help to change the world. Assos is proud to support Trish and the Dancing Deer crew in their efforts to end family homelessness. From Trish: I feel a bit overwhelmed both by the generosity of Assos’s sponsorship, as well as wondering how to recognize myself in such very cool looking stuff. They set me up with everything imaginable including socks and a skull cap. Every stitch of it is a wonder. I have always had a “one gear suits all” outdoor sports mentality and pretty much wear things till they’re in tatters as well. I have to admit that wearing something enormously comfortable, specially designed for the purpose and beautifully made . . and stylish (!) is a great joy. My seat, in particular, thanks to the Assos shorts engineers. www.assos.com (return to Sponsors list)
Belmont Wheelworks New England’s primary retail cycling resource since 1977. These folks are not just shoulder to shoulder with the best in cycling, they are also incredibly nice people! They sponsored Trish because they like to be there for the cycling community and support good efforts and cool things. They told us they didn’t want any commercial promotion in exchange as they really have as many customers as they can happily satisfy. They brought in Trek, Assos, Garmin and Oakley for a range of equipment and technology needs. Just like that! www.wheelworks.com (return to Sponsors list)
CFDynamics.com provides high quality hosting solutions for small to medium sized businesses with millions of dollars in transactions worldwide. Our experienced staff supports a robust network that is completely redundant allowing our customers to confidently do business online. CFDynamics proudly sponsors many not-for-profit organizations and helps them provide a successful web presence. When we were approached by MonkeyMedia Software to help provide a solution for the Dancing Dear Mother’s Day Ride we were glad to donate services and provide a solid foundation for this site. We’re grateful for proactive customers like MonkeyMedia and Dancing Deer that care about the communities they live in. www.cfdynamics.com (return to Sponsors list)
DMSE Sports Is an event management company specializing in the creation, marketing and production of mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. They have directed more than 750 events worldwide some of the most technically challenging and high profile road races and charitable sporting events in the nation. The DMSE team built the route plan and has been our guardian angel advising us on how to do this SAFELY, They won’t be actually running the ride itself for us, as the Boston Marathon is the same week. So they’re busy (!), but they donated lots of great advice. www.dmsesports.com (return to Sponsors list)
Nicole Freedman I always meant to do some research on how to train for this ride but things just got so busy . . . So I had a basic plan acquired by polling my riding friends. It wasn’t a terrible plan. About eight weeks before the ride however I was introduced to Nicole Freedman who agreed to give me some coaching advice. She is a former Olympian and one of the all time winning-est professional cyclists in the sport. She has coached many elite athletes and also coaches the MIT cycling team. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the physics, physiology, psychology and practical aspects of everything related to cycling. She is also philosophical and wise. The first thing she made me do was take a week off and her cautions more often have to do with getting enough rest and enjoyment and honoring the twists and turns life throws in our way, than about the technical stuff. She’s been a great help and an inspiration. Also she’s incredibly modest and mild mannered. The work she’s doing in the City of Boston as Director of Cycling Programs and Hub on Wheels is important stuff. (return to Sponsors list)
Garmin At Garmin, we create navigation and communication devices that can enrich our customers lives. What better way to give back to the cycling community than to support the efforts of Trish and Dancing Deer to end family homelessness? With our Garmin 605 we can’t help Trish pedal, but we will make sure she is on track. From Trish: For those who have already discovered the brave new world of GPS I probably don’t have to tell you that it revolutionizes your riding – especially when you really don’t know where you’re going!! I have the big picture (that comes pretty easily to me). But man the devil is in the details and the Garmin technology has them. It is also a truth machine so no more – “must have averaged about 20 plus and the elevation was 2x Mt. Washington”. It’s all there in the data. Every measly hill or heroic ascent. And in a pinch, all by myself, I was forced to figure out how to use it and managed to do so even though I’m not super techno friendly. So it’s not that hard. On that note however, I did have the tireless and over the top assistance of Scott Chamberlain of Wheelworks. He’s a super Garmin expert and managed the translation with Map My Ride and all the twists and turns we put on this thing for a 1500 mile course. I am developing a close relationship with my GPS and would feel lost in the world without it. www.garmin.com (return to Sponsors list)
Louder Than Words Provides PR consulting and services to foundations, nonprofits, and businesses that are philanthropically minded, community-driven, and socially responsible. It’s purpose is to communicate the inspirational stories of organizations and individuals to the world. By sharing their stories and expertise, our clients influence audiences, promote innovation, advance causes, and inspire positive action. President, Rich Polt jumped in, “ . . .when I learned that Trish was considering an epic bike trek to support Family Homelessness. I immediately knew that this ride would align with her personal passions and would be a bulls eye for the agency’s focus on “doing good in the world.” And from the Deers perspective, it would be an understatement to say that Rich was a driving force in bringing this vision to reality from his first impulse to say yes, to his many, constructive and diligent interventions to make sure we nailed the details along with the vision. www.louderthanwords.com (return to Sponsors list)
MonkeyMedia Software offers a range of web-based solutions for foodservice operators including quick-serve and fast casual restaurants, bakeries, commissaries, food factories and mail order companies. Their family of applications currently supports more than $300 million in annual revenues including Dancing Deer. Trish was pedaling her (stationary) bicycle through a trade show this January and the Monkey folks stopped by and found her breathlessly chatting it up with the crowd, explaining what she intended to do and the Monkey folks simply said, “We know how to do that. We’ll just build it for you – no problem. It’s a donation to your very cool efforts.” Very cool . . . ! It’s lucky too because the technology end of this was terrifically ambitious and we didn’t have the bandwidth to do it in house. They delivered the site from concept to launch in 6 weeks. www.monkeymedia.net (return to Sponsors list)
Oakley was created for world-class athletes, those who see the limits of possibility as just another challenge. Their dedication drives us to look beyond the conventional ideas of industry standards. It’s in our DNA to identify problems, create inventions, and wrap those inventions in art. And simply to make things better than anyone thought possible. Decades of Oakley innovation have been awarded more than 540 patents that elevate physics to the level of art. Our technologies transcend sports to enhance the lives of consumers, and more than 110 countries now enjoy a full array of market-leading products including premium sunglasses, goggles, prescription eyewear, apparel, footwear and accessories. These products represent our commitment to excellence — a passion that redefines what is possible for those who defy their own limits. AND a note from Trish. I was going to carry my reading glasses so when it was really important to read the GPS I could do so. . . . Clint Paige at Wheelworks said “no way”. He also reminded me about eye strain, sun damage to my eyes, the ability to look through the windshield of the oncoming cars to read the driver’s expression, staying on the road and not zig zagging while trying to read the GPS, and minimizing fatigue in general over the very long days on the road. So just like everything else he snapped his fingers and in walks Oakley with top of the line – get this – progressive riding sunglasses so I can see both near and far. Nice idea. Oh my goodness what a difference! And guess what – it also makes sightseeing that much more pleasant and I’m going to be doing a lot of that. www.oakley.com (return to Sponsors list)
refine + focus is a boutique social media and interactive marketing agency which helps businesses and brands create relationships with their customers and achieve their marketing and sales goals online. r+f has deep experience with Facebook, Twitter, blogs, blogger outreach, content and online marketing strategy. It’s clients include Queen Rania of Jordan, HipCricket, XShares Advisors, Broadmark Capital, and Organizações Globo. And of course they have overhauled Dancing Deer’s understanding of social media and coaxed Trish in to the 21st century. www.refineandfocus.com (return to Sponsors list)
Trek Trek is people committed to changing lives through cycling. Our goals are long term as are those of Trish and the incredible journey she is embarking on. Using our bikes in her efforts to end family homelesness is thrilling for all the Trek family. Although the miles will be long, her Trek Madones will provide the most comfortable and efficient technology available. From Trish: Wow what a bike. When I walked in to Wheelworks and took a look at the upgraded brand new Trek Madone for women my jaw dropped. Could I ride something so gorgeous? I absolutely love the Madone I’ve been riding for two years and thought that we were built for each other and no bike could be more perfect. I still feel that way because I’ve put a lot of miles on that bike. I’ve also flown off it many times and it always gets up and cheerfully keeps going – like magic. But this new bike is very hot. Sean Brennan of WW fitted it to me. He’s something of a genius as far as I can tell because he rearranged my whole geometry and it became immediately clear he was right. He thought I should stick with my old seat and put a matching one so both bikes would have the same feel. But after trying out this odd looking new design I begged to hang on to it. It has certain characteristics that make me less intent on having my next entrepreneurial venture be a new type of bicycle seat. www.trekbikes.com (return to Sponsors list)
UPS UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. With more than a century of experience in transportation and logistics, UPS is a leading global trade expert equipped with a broad portfolio of solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at www.ups.com (return to Sponsors list)