Press Release March 15, 2009
Hundreds of runners and riders come together for our city's youth. City of Columbia Chief of Police and Dream Builders team up in support of Initiative to Recruit Mentors.
COLUMBIA, Tennessee – On Saturday, July 4th, 2009 beginning at 8am hundreds of runners and bicycle riders will be gathering at Maury County Park to show support for our youth.
“Turn The Tide Run & Ride” is a unique community event that is part of the Bless it Forward initiative to recruit, train and mobilize adult mentors into the lives of our students. The ultimate goal of this event is to raise awareness of the need for mentors from our community to step up and combat the problems facing our students.
“I’m shouting out to you because the teenagers in our area are fighting against a future with the odds stacked against them. Drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancies, gang activity along with a myriad of other issues are destroying our kids. Every teenager I know is at risk at some level; Black, White and Hispanic, upper, middle and low income, churched or un-churched. Every kid growing up in today’s world is swimming in a sea of problems created by former generations. Without help from our adult mentors, many of our youth will drown,” says Rick Fisher, Founder of Dream Builders (a non-profit 501c3).
“Turn The Tide Run & Ride” is being held for the second year in Columbia to raise the awareness and the funds needed to recruit and train adult mentors. The ultimate goal of this event is to have scores of adults mentoring hundreds of teeagers in our area.
We are proclaiming July 4th, 2009 as Turn the Tide day. The Chief of Police along with other community leaders will be present to lend support for this effort and to encourage our citizens to become mentors to the students in our city.
For more information about this event or sponsorship opportunities visit www.turnthetideride.com.