AJS Board Member Scales Peaks for Justice

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AJS Board member Gary Nederveld (center) biked from the Pacific Coast to the Continental Divide to raise support for AJS.

On June 5, Gary Nederveld and three friends dipped their bike tires at the Golden Gate Bridge—the beginning of a 2,000 km bike trip from California to Colorado.

The trip was the fulfillment of a challenge that Nederveld, a retired nonprofit executive, first set for himself a decade ago. But his goals were more than just personal: Nederveld, a founding board member and outgoing President of of AJS-U.S., raised over $2,100 for the organization through his ride. Nederveld challenged family and friends to donate one, two, or three pennies for each of the 2,000 kilometers he biked. “A penny a kilometer would be $20, two pennies $40, 3 pennies $60, and so on,” he told them. “The thought of all those pennies accumulating each kilometer will level some of those high western mountains that otherwise might be too steep.”

Nederveld cites results as the reason for his continued support for AJS’s work in Honduras. “Efforts have been made and are making a huge impact on land rights, labor rights, prevention of sexual abuse and counseling for those victimized by sexual abuse, and anti-corruption,” he said.

Reflecting on the ride, Nederveld says, “There were patches when one simply wished to be off the bike, but more often a sense of satisfaction and sometimes of wonder.”

One day of the ride Nederveld compiled a list of his “Top Ten” moments. Number nine was “the group biking over two peaks, Wah Wah and Frisco, each requiring an elevation gain of more than 1,200 feet.” Scaling peaks is an apt metaphor for AJS’s efforts, Nederveld says. “I think about AJS work as it levels mountains of injustice.”

You can scale peaks (or hills) for justice by participating in one of AJS' one-day rides for justice in October! Click here to Just Ride!