Once Planned For 2020!
Bike courses utilize more of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail
5K route is fully paved
Color Our World event is a one-mile fun walk, fully accessible for strollers and wheelchairs
Corporate packages available to make it easier for employees to register for company teams
In celebration of the completed Pumpkinvine Trail , we will only be offering a 7 and 20 mile bike ride. Join us for food and celebration when you return from your ride!
Walk, run or Ride-A-Bike for choice and possibility
Thanks to our generous corporate sponsors, every penny of every registration fee goes directly to helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities find choice and possibility in their lives.
All money raised goes to supporting programs at ADEC that are underfunded but essential.
ADEC serves more than 1,200 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities each year, helping them accomplish their dreams and realize their true potential.
Without donations from our community — and our 200+ walkers, runners and riders — ADEC would not be able to continue some of the programs that make such an important difference in the lives of the people we serve like:
- Camp Wy.Not.: A summer camp for children with disabilities that allows campers to develop social, life and academic skills while providing parents peace of mind and the ability to continue working.
- Guardianship: ADEC’s guardian advocates work to protect the individuals we serve from abuse and neglect while also helping them make informed decisions about legal, personal and financial matters.
- Transportation: ADEC’s fleet of buses carry more than 100 passengers a day — all ADEC clients — and log more than 12,000 miles a month. ADEC drives dignity and independence by making sure the people we serve can be of the community, whether it’s showing up for work or attending a day program to learn vocational skills.
SEE THE DIFFERENCE
Hawthorne Elementary students, staff support ADEC at 2019 Ride-A-Bike
More than 20 students and teachers from Hawthorne Elementary participate in ADEC's 47th annual [...]
ADEC board member, former employee Cary Kelsey gears up for his 45th Ride-A-Bike
Cary Kelsey has only missed two Ride-A-Bikes in the event's 47-year history. He's gearing up for a milestone: 45 years!
WALK
You add color into the lives of the people we serve, so we’re going to add some color to yours.
We realize that not everyone owns a bike, so we are excited to bring back the Color Our World event. This one-mile walk/run through Middlebury Community Schools’ campus is fully accessible to both wheelchairs and strollers.
Why a color run/walk? It’s metaphorical, really. Although ADEC receives fees for service from Medicaid, that money only provides the essentials for the people we serve. For example, Medicaid funding pays for one roundtrip per day. If an individual we serve has a doctor’s appointment, that counts as their one roundtrip. But that appointment only lasts an hour, maybe two. What now? If ADEC operated only on government funding, that individual would be forced to sit at home for the rest of the day, twiddling their thumbs.
But that’s not how ADEC works. At ADEC, we believe individuals deserve a life of choice and possibility. After our individuals go to their doctor’s appointment, we will take them to their job at ADEC Industries or to one of our five day service locations, where they can learn new skills and catch up with friends.
While ADEC receives government funding, it only provides the basics for our clients. It is the generous donations that help our clients live full, colorful lives. You are making unfunded programs, like Summer Camp and guardianship, possible.
Plus, the color powder will make for some really cool pictures to post on Instagram and Facebook.
Sign up today. Your registration fee includes a white (well, it won’t be white for long) T-shirt, a packet of color powder, and food at the finish line — because you earned it.
RUN
In 2018 we introduced a Color Our World 5K to the Ride-A-Bike line-up, but we made a discovery: The runners who signed up for the timing were not necessarily interested in being blasted with color powder.
This year, the 5K will include color-safe zone for runners (although those that want to start in a cloud of color can do so).Â
The 3.1-mile course winds through the Middlebury Community Schools campus and uses the new Ridge Run Trail. Runners will turn around after crossing the beautiful Essenhaus covered bridge.
Sign up today. Your registration fee includes a Ride-A-Bike Event T-shirt and food at the finish line — because you earned it.Â
RIDE
There’s a reason why ADEC’s Ride-A-Bike is the longest-running bike ride in Elkhart County: It’s because it’s always a fun time for the whole family — and it benefits a great cause.
Join ADEC on Saturday, May 16, for the 48th running of Ride-A-Bike.
Families will enjoy our 7-mile route to Krider Garden. Using the new Ridge Run Trail near Essenhaus, we have eliminated the Wayne Street hill. That means no more climb and no more S-curves.
Riders with a little more endurance who take on the 20- mile route will enjoy the scenic Pumpkinvine Nature Trail through Elkhart County. A new SAG stop at Abshire Park will feature free massages back by popular demand.