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From sea to shining sea
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| Glendale resident and former Glendale Community College student Anneé Deering will ride her bike from coast to coast on a three-month, 3,000-mile journey to raise funds for the Davis Community Clinic in Davis in Northern California. (Tammy Abbott/News-Press) |
Glendale resident Anneé Deering is using pedal power to cross America on a fundraising trip.
By Angela Hokanson
Seeing a country by car or bus is too fast to really experience it, Anneé Deering thought to herself while traveling through Vietnam on a bus when she spent a semester abroad in her senior year of college two years ago.
So Deering, now 25 and living in Glendale, resolved that when she returned home, she’d see America in a slower, more personal way: by bike.
“A bike is kind of as close a relationship as you can get,” Deering said.
Deering and her boyfriend will begin a three-month, 3,000-mile journey across the country next week.
As Deering planned the trip, she decided to turn the journey into a fundraiser to benefit a health care clinic in Davis, Calif., that serves low-income and uninsured patients.
Deering will begin a master’s degree program in nursing this summer, and she thinks that health care professionals should lead the way in making sure patients get the care they need.
“I kind of wanted to start my healthcare career on that foot,” Deering said.
She decided that her ride would benefit the Davis Community Clinic, one of seven CommuniCare Health Centers in Northern California that serve low-income, uninsured or underinsured patients. Deering was familiar with the organization from growing up in Davis.
She didn’t have a lot of money to donate, but she didn’t want that to stop her.
“I’ve been taught that it’s never too early to start,” she said.
She did, on the other hand, have time — several month’s worth of it.
In January, Deering completed a year’s worth of science courses at Glendale Community College, classes she would need for her graduate work in nursing.
But her graduate program won’t begin until June or July, so Deering decided to spend the winter fundraising for her chosen cause, and the spring actually doing the bike ride. Deering has applied to graduate programs in nursing at schools in both Southern and Northern California, and she will hear back about her options later this spring. She graduated from Mills College in Oakland with a degree in environmental science in December 2006.
Deering will use her own money from her two jobs – one at the outdoor equipment retail store R.E.I, one at a Hollywood nightclub called Circus Disco — to cover her trip expenses. The funds she’s raised from family, friends and businesses will go to the Davis Community Clinic.
About $1,500 in donations has come in so far, but Deering will keep accepting donations throughout the three months she’s on the road. Her sponsors include the two businesses Deering has been working for this past year.
Deering’s trip will help call attention to the services provided by community clinics, said John Bonner, the development director of CommuniCare Health Centers.
And, the funds that Deering raises will help the clinic pay for services for patients.
“We depend on community fundraising,” Bonner said.
Deering and her boyfriend, Chris Horangic, fly to eastern Florida this week, and will spend the next three months cycling west alonwg the southern tier cross-country route, a path through states like Alabama, Texas and Arizona, mostly along two-lane highways.
They plan to travel six days a week, but will take breaks of several days when they reach cities they want to explore, like New Orleans or Austin.
They’ll be camping outdoors for most of the trip, with occasionally stays in hotels.
Their trip will take them from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. They aim to reach San Diego by the end of May.
ANGELA HOKANSON covers education. She may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at angelahokanson@latimes.com.
So Deering, now 25 and living in Glendale, resolved that when she returned home, she’d see America in a slower, more personal way: by bike.
“A bike is kind of as close a relationship as you can get,” Deering said.
Deering and her boyfriend will begin a three-month, 3,000-mile journey across the country next week.
As Deering planned the trip, she decided to turn the journey into a fundraiser to benefit a health care clinic in Davis, Calif., that serves low-income and uninsured patients.
Deering will begin a master’s degree program in nursing this summer, and she thinks that health care professionals should lead the way in making sure patients get the care they need.
“I kind of wanted to start my healthcare career on that foot,” Deering said.
She decided that her ride would benefit the Davis Community Clinic, one of seven CommuniCare Health Centers in Northern California that serve low-income, uninsured or underinsured patients. Deering was familiar with the organization from growing up in Davis.
She didn’t have a lot of money to donate, but she didn’t want that to stop her.
“I’ve been taught that it’s never too early to start,” she said.
She did, on the other hand, have time — several month’s worth of it.
In January, Deering completed a year’s worth of science courses at Glendale Community College, classes she would need for her graduate work in nursing.
But her graduate program won’t begin until June or July, so Deering decided to spend the winter fundraising for her chosen cause, and the spring actually doing the bike ride. Deering has applied to graduate programs in nursing at schools in both Southern and Northern California, and she will hear back about her options later this spring. She graduated from Mills College in Oakland with a degree in environmental science in December 2006.
Deering will use her own money from her two jobs – one at the outdoor equipment retail store R.E.I, one at a Hollywood nightclub called Circus Disco — to cover her trip expenses. The funds she’s raised from family, friends and businesses will go to the Davis Community Clinic.
About $1,500 in donations has come in so far, but Deering will keep accepting donations throughout the three months she’s on the road. Her sponsors include the two businesses Deering has been working for this past year.
Deering’s trip will help call attention to the services provided by community clinics, said John Bonner, the development director of CommuniCare Health Centers.
And, the funds that Deering raises will help the clinic pay for services for patients.
“We depend on community fundraising,” Bonner said.
Deering and her boyfriend, Chris Horangic, fly to eastern Florida this week, and will spend the next three months cycling west alonwg the southern tier cross-country route, a path through states like Alabama, Texas and Arizona, mostly along two-lane highways.
They plan to travel six days a week, but will take breaks of several days when they reach cities they want to explore, like New Orleans or Austin.
They’ll be camping outdoors for most of the trip, with occasionally stays in hotels.
Their trip will take them from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. They aim to reach San Diego by the end of May.
ANGELA HOKANSON covers education. She may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at angelahokanson@latimes.com.
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