With nearly 3,800 miles of nothing but road and the summer sun beating down against his back, an Ohio University student took a cross-country trip to raise awareness for those who don’t have a roof over their heads.
For Conor Emser, a sophomore studying social work and a Cleveland native, biking has always been something of hobby. But for the last two months, Emser biked with 30 others across the U.S. to help build affordable housing under a program called Bike and Build.
Emser was the only one on his team from OU.
The route started in Virginia Beach, Va. and ended in Cannon Beach, Ore. Emser, 19, endured 50 miles of cycling a day and elements that were not always on his side.
“It was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Emser said. “There were challenges every single day.”
Emser stayed mostly in schools, churches or other host sites; not exactly the hotel beds that accompany most traveling. After biking 3,794 miles, Emser and his team raised $150,000 and donated the money to a housing organization in Portland, Ore.
“We decided as a team to donate it there,” he added.
In 2012, $600,000 was raised by all participants for grants to give to affordable housing organizations and helped build about 1,100 homes, said Justin Villere, director of operations and outreach for Bike and Build.
Villere said he could not provide the 2013 numbers yet.
Founded in 2002, Bike and Build is an organization where participants bike either across the country or regionally and help build homes for those who have low-incomes or cannot afford housing.
“I think it really shows (Conor) having the desire for making a positive impact in communities across the country,” Villere said. “His passion for service by taking two months of his summer and the time to commit training and fundraise for (the trip) is a testament for his caring for others.”
Emser said he saw many parts of the country where some cities were impoverished, including some building sites where he had stopped to help, such as an urban part of inner-city Portland, Ore.
Emser’s team decided to donate its funds to the housing organization working there, which is building 100–150 homes in the neighborhood he worked in.
“It’s a beautiful neighborhood,” Emser said. “We met a lot of the families.”
OU officials were also aware of the trip, including Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones, and said students should try to expand their horizons beyond the university.
“If one student who has gotten a beautiful, wonderful experience engaging with the Athens community can open up the door for other students to do that, I think that’s great,” Hall-Jones said. “It would be really sad for people to graduate from Ohio University without meeting people in Athens and without getting outside of the walls of (OU) and really understanding what it means to be a member of the Athens community.”
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