Cycling for Two Great Causes

ABC Home & Commercial Services’ Bobby and Raleigh Jenkins’s final morning bike ride — a quick five-mile trip on Sept. 6 — ended at Texas &M’s Kyle Field, in the heart of the Fan Zone. At that site, the duo’s traveling RV was parked and a warm welcome awaited them from their team, family and friends.

The ABC team was recognized on the field before the Texas A&M-Utah State football game, and Bobby and Raleigh had the opportunity to participate in the coin toss.

Bobby told PCT the ride for him has always been about finding answers to the mystery of Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC).

“Our first grandchild, Moss, was a perfectly healthy little boy who went down for a nap and never woke up,” he said. “That loss has been the driving force behind every pedal stroke. Our goal is simple but urgent: to support research that seeks to understand why these tragedies occur and how we can prevent them in the future.”

In a YouTube video, NYU Langone Health Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Registry and Research Collaborative (SUDCRRC) Principal Investigators Dr. Orrin Devinsky and Laura Gould welcomed Bobby back home and thanked him after his 5,500-mile ride to raise funds for the Moss Pieratt Foundation.

For Raleigh, the trip was to raise funds for Mission Lazarus, which builds and funds schools and orphanages in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Raleigh’s involvement with relief work in Haiti began in 2010, during his term as president of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), when he and other NPMA leaders traveled to the island nation which was ravaged by an earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people. Today, Haiti faces extreme hardships due to gang violence, starvation and mass displacement. Mission Lazarus offers a “hand up” through long-term support. Their work includes schools, orphanages, nursing care, and vocational training in trades like leatherwork and masonry. When Raleigh met with staff recently, they simply said, “Thank you for not deserting us,” he recalled His ride raised awareness and funds to help these communities build sustainable futures.

Learn more about the Jenkins brothers’ journey and donate to their causes at brothersbike.org. — Amanda Joerndt