The Give Kids a Chance Tour: A National Bicycle Event: Boston to San Francisco

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August 5- November 15, 2012

The Give Kids a Chance Tour is a bicycle trek across the United States by John Guiliano in order to raise money to benefit the Tamarindo youth community in Guarjila, El Salvador. John is the founder of the Tamarindo Community and Director of Operations for the Tamarindo Foundation, Inc., an Indianapolis, Indiana based 501c3, organization that assists John in carrying out the mission of helping kids.

25 years ago, John began his campaign to help the people of Guarjila, not with hand-outs, but with real development that comes from education, business development, and commitment from the community. The Tamarindo community provides guidance and support for the youth of Guarjila. John began the Tamarindo as a way to foster healing in an area of El Salvador torn apart by the 12-year long civil war. Today, family disintegration, lack of economic opportunity, drug abuse and gang violence are some of the greatest challenges for the people of Guarjila. The Tamarindo continues to work to solve these problems by continuously creating diverse programming to give kids an alternative to life on the streets. The "Tamarindo Garden," a 20'x60' former chicken coop, is where all of this takes place. It's busting at the seams and it is our dream to build a larger and more functional sports and recreation center to allow everyone an opportunity to learn and grow in a safe space, 24 hours a day.

On August 5th, 2012, John will begin to bike 4,592 miles (7,390 kilometers) to raise money and awareness and make the dream of the new Tamarindo Center a reality.

John's ride is all about spreading the word about the great work being done at the Tamarindo and to ask for support to allow this work to continue and to help build a new and improved Tamarindo Community Center.

There are 3 ways you can help:

1. Donate to the Tamarindo Foundation and support John's ride. Choose one of the options to the right.

2. Become a Core 500 team leader: Core 500 leaders are tasked with finding thirty members or more to donate $30 or more to their fundraising campaign: simply click on the icon in the upper left that says "become a fundraiser" and register yourself as an athlete and begin forwarding the pre-made email to your family and friends. After you register, everything is automatic, including tracking donations on your behalf and the sending of the thank you cards. It couldn't be easier.

3. Donate to help a Core 500 Member reach his/her goal: When you donate, simply click "yes" to the question "Do you want to donate to a specific team or individual?" then type in the amount you want to donate and choose the Core 500 member you want to support in his/her campaign from the drop-down menu.

If you are not able to donate money, we invite you to help us raise awareness by setting up an event in your town on the night that John will be there or host John for the night.