17th PAYH Bike Ride In The Books

Paul Anderson Youth Home, a fully accredited and licensed home offering a second chance to young men in crisis, is wrapping up its 60th anniversary celebration this year with its 17th Annual Bike Ride. Over the course of five days, July 19–23, five residents of the home traveled a total of 350 miles by bicycle on routes along the eastern coast of central Florida. They had their base for the event in Flagler Beach.

The event is part fundraiser, and each continued from page

rider can be sponsored by donors at payhbikeride. com. You can still go to the website to donate to the ride.

The event also recalls and commemorates a foundational moment in the history of Paul Anderson Youth Home. At its founding in 1961, the former Olympic gold-medal winner Anderson hopped on a bicycle and rode from Vidalia, Georgia, 1,200 miles to Omaha, Nebraska. He did this for the same reasons the five boys do it today, to raise funds and raise awareness of the mission to give troubled young men a second chance through Christ. Now 60 years later, the Paul Anderson Youth Home celebrates more than 1,400 lives changed through a process of recovery, restoration, and redemption.

PAYH released a statement, “What an incredible week! These guys never cease to amaze us. Yes, they were tired. Yes, they hurt. Their backs hurt. Their muscles ached. Did they want to give up? Yes. Did they give up? Absolutely not! They put into practice what they have been taught at PAYH; when life gets dif –

ficult; when the pain be comes dominant, you press through. You push forward. You don't quit. The lessons these young men have learned will forever be prevalent in their lives and in their hearts. We are so proud of these guys who have accomplished so much this week!”

Since the riders are students of PAYH, each young man’s struggle to overcome emotional problems, bad decisions, and spiritual challenges is symbolized in the physical fortitude to travel such distances. Anderson, a world-class athlete, stressed physical fitness as one component of honoring God. The endurance needed to achieve these distances, in turn, honors his lessons of how exercising the body is as important as exercising the mind, filling it with positivity and prayer.

To learn more about Paul Anderson Youth Home and family resources, visit payh.org.