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Biking To Help Others Meet Lisa Campbell

photo by provided Lisa Campbell is ready to put on lots of miles to help young people fighting cancer.

Tuesday September 19, 2017

By Cookie Steponaitis

While Lisa Campbell has been riding a bicycle since she was ‘knee-high to a grasshopper’ she never considered it more than fun transportation until the past couple of years. Lisa grew up in Addison County in the generation that rode bikes pretty much everywhere. Campbell can remember bicycling to friends’ homes, the swimming pool and a party or two that she should not have been at while growing up. It is now in her later life that riding her bike has become more than just exercise and enjoyment. For Campbell, it is a way to give back and help out.
   “Early this summer I was asked by a family friend if I would join a team that was going to ride their bikes 200 miles to raise money for young women with breast cancer,” shared Campbell. “I didn’t even think twice about it. I just said yes. I knew nothing, had no fax, no details, but signed up and registered on the spot. The satisfaction I get from this is the fact that I am helping. There have been several people in my own life that have passed away from different kinds of cancer. One just recently was my brother- in-law who was only fifty-nine years old. I have known a few women who have had breast cancer and with treatment have thank God beaten it. It is unfortunate that the numbers of survivors don’t outweigh those who lose their fights.” While everyone can agree with Campbell that cancer has touched far too many families in the Champlain Valley, not everyone would simply sign up to bike 200 miles. Campbell is also involved annually with the Dragon Boat team at her work and participates in the Dragon Boat Festival at the Burlington Water Front each August to help raise money specifically for breast cancer.
Working with the Team Ivory Ella fundraising bike ride, Campbell is riding 200 miles in October from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Long Branch, New Jersey. Campbell has set a personal goal of $2,500 and to date has raised about half. Donations can be made to ycstourdepink.org or checks can be mailed to Young Survival Coalition, 80 Board Street, Suite 1700, New York, 10004. This is a win-win scenario for Campbell because Ivory Ella helps raise funds for cancer survivors; they also are a non-profit and have a clothing store affiliated with saving elephants. The company is named after Ella, an elephant in Amboseli National Park and donates to end ivory trade and preserve elephant ivory. Campbell is an avid supporter of all things preserving elephants, who she feels are one of God’s greatest creatures.
   With over one billion bicycles on the planet, Campbell hopes others will consider joining her in in this fundraising ride and others. “I am hoping that some people will be willing to donate and help me to reach my goal of $2,500,” shared the Addison County cyclist, “but even more importantly, I hope people will get out and ride for fun, for exercise and as a way to enjoy this beautiful state.” People wanting to donate can go to https://east.ysctourdepink.org/LisaCampbell or send donations directly to the address listed above with Lisa’s name as the rider involved. While Campbell and her sisters are avid athletes with involvement in everything from competitive weight lifting, running Spartan races and getting together for a little afternoon fun in lugging logs up hills and rolling large tractor tires, the sisters together support each other in contests designed not to test speed or strength They simply prefer be active to help others live a better life. Campbell has already trained and ridden her bike hundreds of miles in preparation for the distance. All she needs now is the support of others who may not be riding this time but are focused on helping others.

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