Sat, 18 Feb 2012
Help a BSD developer bike across the US, and give hope to cancer communities
My friend Venkatesh, pictured above, is going to bike four thousand miles, all the way across the continental US, from Baltimore to Portland. He's doing it to raise money for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. I'm writing this because I want you to donate money to his cause. He's a DragonFly BSD developer, loves bikes, and your donation could make a big difference.
I first met Venkatesh through the Johns Hopkins computer club, an ACM chapter. I was the head of the club, and he had just started his career at Hopkins. He was looking for advice on running Brickwiki, the LEGO encyclopedia. Quickly, I became his friend; in that time, I've learned the following things about him.
- He is friendly!
- He believes in science; beyond just writing sharp code, he likes to ask questions.
- He is melodramatically attracted to the power and complexity of biology. (The above quote about cancer are his words.)
- He wants to do something to make cancer less of a killer.
In the years since I graduated from Hopkins, I've been impressed by Venkatesh's ongoing curiosity and contributions to open source projects like DragonFly. I'm honored to have this chance to help him bike across the country for a good cause.
Here is a quick word about the 4K for cancer effort:
Since 2002, groups of college students have undertaken a 70 day, 4000+ mile summer bike ride across the United States with the goal of offering hope, inspiration and support to cancer communities along the way.
This past summer was our 10th year of cycling across the country as 76 volunteers rode along three different routes: Baltimore to San Francisco, Baltimore to Portland, and Baltimore to Seattle. Our riders raised a combined $476,000 to support organizations and individuals in the fight against cancer.
His fundraising goal is $5,000. Anything from $5 to $500 is a donation to an organization that helps young adult cancer surviers and their families get access to information and support resources. Can you help?
