For the Third year we are proud to sponsor a local charity ride: The American Legion Post 197 Gravel Mission. Odds are you haven't heard of it and that's fine. It's small (and happy to stay that way) and grows a little each year, which is for sure better than shrinking.

The Mission is simple, raise enough money to send two local students to Boys and Girls State, which is a summer leadership and citizenship programs for high school juniors that focuses on exploring the mechanics of American government and politics. This gravel biking event is 100% volunteer run, and 100% done on free will donations. So all of the money raised goes to the intended Mission. This is exactly the kind of stone soup charity we are proud to support.

We aren't a big company (two people) so there aren't going to be any fancy corporate sponsorship titles at events for us and that's just how we like it. We cover the costs of getting some event promotion posters and patches for those who sign up to ride (and donate). It's fun to help create an evolving and improving "brand" for the event that hopefully translates to more and larger donations.

But posters and patches are not enough to put on an event. When you add that to the donated trophies, the donated supply stops, all the volunteer hours helping to organize, plan and run the event and even a meal deal at the local tavern it goes from a rock in water to something looking like soup. Lots of people offering up what they can to make the event better. And who could forget the riders who come out and add that missing ingredient that makes the soup savory and the mission accomplished. Saying it's "free" is probably not the best description. It's donations only. Donate what value you received. This is where it can go from “needs more salt”, to “chefs kiss”. Always remember that it does feel better to give than receive. So when you find an event that you like, and that kettle comes around, make sure you chip in.

Stone Soup Events

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