Dirt Girl Diary: To Give is to Receive

Santa's got a great gig. He gets to give. And what does he get in return?

Joy.

And so that pretty much sums up the weekend. I had the pleasure of being one on the receiving end of many generous people. I'm referring first to the THOR fund raiser, Hails to the Trails. In a short order our club was able to gather prizes for a raffle drawing and auction and turn it all into a $3500 lottery ticket. Many of the local bike shops in Omaha, Lincoln and Council Bluffs all willingly gave some items in the name of THOR. There were some artists who gave us art and photos. Some businesses chipped in and were even grateful that we came to them (some new partnerships will be in place for next year). Someone once said, you can't get what you don't ask for. Well, glad we asked!

Then on Saturday, THOR celebrated the opening of Adam's Park trail, a gateway park project we took on in partnership with Activate Omaha, Omaha Parks and Rec and others. Planning started last year and THOR got involved, physically moving dirt, in April. Within three months, and as many trail days, we managed to open up the beginner loop, which covers 4/10 of a mile through grassy slopes and some wooded sections. Through AO's connections and the local Y, we had about a dozen kids from the area ride the trail. Not once in the searing heat, not twice, but some even rode it 6 times! Smiles were a plenty as well as bragging rights. Kent brought bikes, AO brought helmets and THOR brought the food and drink. The Y also brought out some extra games to play between laps. Sun Dogs volunteers were on hand to help with the food distribution, etc. It was a great collaboration and to top it off, THOR presented a over-sized check in the amount of $7500, which represented the amount of money the city saved by partnering with volunteers. We gave it to a representative from Omaha Parks and Rec who was a valuable asset in the project. She came out WITH HER BIKE to ride the trail and even brought a couple kids from a nearby park that was celebrating an opening as well. It was a fun event to be a part of and a great project for the community!

Photos courtesy of Jeremy Cooke.