On June 19, seven young women dipped their tires into the Pacific Ocean at Ocean Beach in San Francisco and began an epic journey across the country by bicycle. These college-aged women make up the 2014 Ride Against AIDS team that will cycle over 4,000 miles across America this summer.
A class of ‘14 Valparaiso University graduate, Katelyn Stermer has a particularly personal connection to the HIV/AIDS awareness movement. During her semester abroad in southern Africa she interned with AIDS Care Trust, a non-governmental organization supporting HIV-positive individuals in Katatura, a low-income suburb of Namibia’s capital, Windhoek. While there, Stermer co-authored a USAID small projects grant and re-vamped the government’s training manual for community home-based care providers. However, her most important experience was in the lasting friendship she fostered with her co-worker, a 29-year-old woman who had been forcibly sterilized on account of her HIV-positive status. Upon returning from this journey with such a personal connection to global health equity, Stermer switched her career path to public health. She recently graduated magna cum laude from Valparaiso University receiving a BS in Chemistry, International Service, and Humanities with two theses entitled “Are Chronic Illnesses Making the Health System Sick” and “The Ethics of Pharmaceuticals: Analyzing the impact of TRIPS agreements on the South African HIV & AIDS epidemic”. 24 hours after returning from the Ride Against AIDS she will begin classes at the University of Illinois-Chicago in pursuit of a Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology.
This unique and powerful cross-country bike ride dedicated to raising awareness and funds to fight HIV/AIDS is run by FACE AIDS, a youth-led non-profit that works in the U.S. and Rwanda. The Ride was started in 2007 by two Stanford students and since its inception has raised more than $400,000 for communities in Rwanda. This summer, the seventh annual Ride Against AIDS aims to raise over $100,000, with each rider committing to an individual goal of $10,000, for programs carried out by the Boston based non-profit Partners in Health. Stermer has already individually raised over $9,160 and has this to say of her experience, “After I graduated this past May, every entry-level position I researched seemed to require at least 2 years of experience… but in the global health equity movement, no experience is required. My experiences at Valpo taught me that an individual with a passion for philanthropy and service will make an impact, regardless of their current income or degree. It is an honor to be able to ‘cycle’ in solidarity with those individuals I know living with HIV & AIDS and concurrently educate communities across the US about this still very real, international pandemic.”
To support the efforts of FACE AIDS and the movement toward global health equity, please visit https://faceaids.fundly.com/katelyn-stermer-the-2014-ride-against-aids-team.
In addition to fundraising, riders will speak with and give presentations to community groups, summer camps, elected representatives, Rotary Clubs, schools, FACE AIDS chapters, and individuals across the country about the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
While in Valpo from July 31 to August 2, the riders will host a community forum and fundraiser. The 30-minute presentation will include information about the work of non-profits FACE AIDS and Partners in Health, as well as photos and personal stories from this year’s ride with a question and answer session following. The event is scheduled for 12-1 p.m. on August 1 at Valparaiso University’s Harre Union in the Hearth Room.
The 2013 Ride Against AIDS team biked from San Francisco, CA to Boston, MA over 67 days and stopped in 54 cities. Throughout their journey, they directly reached more than 1,000 individuals and through print and online media indirectly reached hundreds of thousands more. The 2014 team will carry on this tradition: they are more than fundraisers; they are educators and ambassadors for the cause, inspiring others and drawing them into the movement for global health equity. To learn more, visit here.