Alec Offenberger Arrives in California on Thursday after Pedaling from Maine to Save Lives in Support of Mercury One’s Nazarene Fund
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 07, 2016 -- Alec Offenberger began his pedaling journey from Maine to California on September 26, 2015 to help save lives in support of Mercury One’s Nazarene Fund. That journey concludes on Thursday, June 9th at On the Waterfront Café in Venice Beach, CA at 2:00 p.m. Be there to join in the celebration!
When Alec Offenberger is lost, he consults his personal compass. “When I’m lost I just listen and my compass tells me where to go. God tells me this is the right way.”
Having a spiritual GPS can come in handy, especially for a man named Alec who is riding his bicycle from Maine to California for a cause greater than himself. Horrified by the beheading of Egyptian Coptic Christians by Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Libya(1) as well as the ongoing violence against Christians and Muslims in the ISIS-controlled territory inside Syria and Iraq, Alec felt he had to do something to help. He was familiar with Mercury One’s Nazarene Fund and the #NeverAgainIsNow (2) campaign to save persecuted Christians in the Middle East and decided he would do all he could to make an impact.
After considerable soul searching, the 25 year-old Eagle Scout left everything behind in his native Cincinnati, Ohio, drove to Bar Harbor, Maine and on September 26 of 2015, his Operation Pedal Patronage began. “My mom actually just dropped me off, she drove away and I started pedaling.”
Alec’s goal is to ride his specialized AWOL Elite bicycle across the United States, from Maine to California to raise awareness and money for the Nazarene Fund. Through his GoFundMe (3) website at http://www.gofundme.com/pedalpatron, he has raised over $36,000 to date. The average cost to help move and support a family of five is $25,000. Raising more means helping more.
“One hundred percent of what I raise goes to the Nazarene Fund,” Alec said. “But it’s not about the money, it’s the message. I get to talk to people about what is going on. I am raising awareness and getting conversations started about this genocide.”
Alec is not taking the direct route. His journey from Bar Harbor has taken him along the Eastern Seaboard, down the Atlantic Coast to Miami, through the Florida Panhandle and across the Southern U.S. On Wednesday, Alec dropped by Mercury One headquarters to meet with the team and to share some stories from the first half of his trip on the road. His adventure has included helping a rancher birth a cow in Richards, Texas and an attempted mugging by a transient in Miami, which resulted in Alec getting stabbed in the leg. But one of his most affecting moments came from a young child helping his mother in a diner in Poughkeepsie, New York.
“This little boy was cleaning tables for his mom and she would give him a dollar from her tips for each table he bussed,” Alec said. “His usual routine was to use the money to buy something or to play video games. But instead he gave his money that day to me (for the Nazarene Fund).”
Alec is also moved by the support he has received and the diversity of the people with whom his message resonates. “I have had the privilege of meeting and talking with people across all social classes, ethnicities and beliefs. This is something that really unites people. It is really special.”
Alec will conclude his ride at 2:00 pm, Thursday, June 9, 2016 at On the Waterfront Café in Venice Beach, CA. The Mercury One team will be there to greet him. Join us!
Mercury One Mission Statement: Mercury One is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore the human spirit by providing humanitarian aid, preserving heritage, and empowering all to stand for truth. http://mercuryone.org/
Nazarene Fund: The mission of The Nazarene Fund is to rescue and restore persecuted Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East as we believe all lives matter. As mandated by the founder of Mercury One, our goal is to rescue 400 persecuted Christian families in 2016, to safe locations where they may live in peace and freely practice their faith without fear of being targeted. Our rescue and restorative efforts have been proven a success as we relocated our first group of 34 Iraqi Christian families to Slovakia in December of 2015. Since then, we have rescued families to secure locations in their native country and have assisted through the sponsorship of educational opportunities. http://thenazarenefund.org/
Links:
1: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/15/video-claims-to-show-islamic-state-beheading-21-christians/
2: http://mercuryone.org/nazarene-fund
3: http://gofundme.com/pedalpatron
Media Contact for Interviews: Michael Powell. 214-914-8666. mpowell(at)mercuryone.org
Michael Powell, Mercury One, http://www.mercuryone.org, +1 214-914-8666, [email protected]
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