SAN DIEGO — December 2, 2017 — San Diego VeloYouth (SDVY) will hold a special community service cleanup and Bike-A-Thon led by 10 at-risk, disadvantaged students from Will C. Crawford High School on December 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon at the San Diego Velodrome located at Morley Field. The students, age 14-18, will ride bicycles on the Velodrome bike race track from 11:30 am to 12 noon as San Diego VeloYouth coaches Matt Hoffmann and John Walsh tally the number of laps toward raising money for a “pay it forward” campaign to fund new bicycles, helmets and locks for the incoming 2018 VeloYouth class. The students will ride between 30-50 laps. The current VeloYouth class has been out in their communities informing people about the program and obtaining per lap financial commitments to help bicycling equipment for the next class. Prior to the Bike-A-Thon the students will be doing a major cleanup of the San Diego Velodrome from 9:00 to 11:30 am.

“The 6-week VeloYouth classes held at the San Diego Velodrome provides these students with an opportunity to EARN a bike through positive participation and attendance, community service, and pay it forward. The bikes become a great means of transportation and a vehicle to a new and better life,” said Matt Hoffmann, SDVY’s Head Coach and Director of Youth Programs.

San Diego VeloYouth (SDVY) offers at-risk and disadvantaged teens 18 hours of coaching in cycling at the track in Balboa Park’s San Diego Velodrome. The athletes give back (through community service) and “pay it forward” as steps towards earning their own bike. Coaching, on and off the bike, focuses on the motto “STARS Create Possibilities” with emphasis on Self-Respect, Teamwork, Achievement, Responsibility, and Success. SDVY promotes personal development, social connections, healthy competition, and education. At the completion of the program, athletes will have set and achieved goals, increased self-confidence, made new friends, and learned teamwork.

SDVY school partners include Will C. Crawford High School, Monarch School for the Homeless, Chula Vista Middle School, Hoover High School, and the San Diego County Office of Education’s Momentum Learning.

The San Diego Velodrome recently completed an extensive renovation and now features a newly resurfaced state-of-the-art track. The Velodrome provides a venue for bicycle track racing, both as an athletic sport as well as a recreational activity, as well as such related activities as bicycle safety programs, bicycle swap meets, and youth bicycling programs, including those provided by SDVY.

Link to San Diego VeloYouth PSA — http://bit.ly/2Bp95JH

For more information: http://veloyouth.org

San Diego VeloYouth Bike-A-Thon and SD Velodrome Clean-Up:

WHEN: December 2 — Velodrome clean-up: 9:00 to 11:30 a.m.; Bike-A-Thon: 11:30 a.m. to Noon

WHERE: San Diego Velodrome at Morley Field, Balboa Park

VISUALS: San Diego VeloYouth students from Crawford High School conducting community service at the San Diego Velodrome; then on their bicycles to ride 30-50 laps in an annual Bike-A-Thon to raise funds for bikes, helmets and locks