The Brotherhood Ride organization consists of firefighters, police officers, and EMS personnel who ride bicycles to honor emergency responders who died in the line of duty. Their mission is to provide emotional and financial support to the families on or near the anniversary of their death.
Over the past six years they have honored the memory and sacrifice of a total of 444 first responders, which includes firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical personnel. They have traveled on bicycles over 4,700 miles through 16 states and have been hosted and assisted by over forty Elks Lodges nationwide.
Through year-round fundraising efforts, the Brotherhood Ride has been able to honor the memory of fallen heroes and provide emotional and financial support to their families. Past Brotherhood Rides include cycling to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2008; Florida in 2009; Houston, Texas, in 2010; New York City (Ground Zero) in 2011; Florida in 2012 and Tennessee in 2013. In the past six years they have proudly donated over $191,000.00 to the families left behind.
The 2014 Ride will honor 19 Firefighters from Texas; (1) from Dallas, (2) from Bryan, (12) from West and (4) from Houston, who died in the line of duty in 2013. Their journey begins on May 22, 2014 traveling from Louisiana, up to Dallas then down through West, Bryan and ending on May 30, 2014 in Houston. Pedaling over 750 miles in 9 days and averaging 80-100 miles a day.
The Brotherhood Ride is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity organization. Other than the cost of conducting the rides, all donated proceeds go directly to the beneficiaries designated. No one is compensated for their time in order to maximize the impact of donations.
Follow the riders’ progress at http://www.brotherhoodride.com/
