NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A professor from Bowling Green State University in Ohio is biking across the country to raise money for public education and he's helping local school districts along the way.
He made a stop in Western New York as a part of the nearly 4,300-mile journey.
Dr. Chris Willis started in Washington state. While stopping in Niagara Falls, he's a little more than halfway through his trip. The idea for this started long before he made it to Western New York.
"Getting back into cycling about six or seven years ago with the idea that I wanted to do this ride," Willis said. "Tried to prove that I was really committed before I went and bought a new bike and then I went and bought this new bike."
Western New York is one of many stops along the way. And it's all a part of a bigger goal to raise money and awareness for public education.
"The fact that there are school districts, big and small, suburban, urban-rural cities, all across the country that are doing great work and teachers get up every day and do their jobs, principals, therapists, lunch ladies," Willis said. "They all come and do their jobs. It's important for us to be able to say thank you to them and hope along the way that folks think maybe yea we outta be doing more to support our public schools."
It's his goal to raise $51,000 and donate $1,000 each to school districts he stops at along the way. While in Western New York, he stopped in the Hamburg Central School District.
He plans to donate money to the district once the ride is over.
"It just fit nicely," Willis said. "It was a good distance for me to stop. That's really how I picked all of the schools along the way. I am using Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier Map Route. So I had a route pre-established and it was the district that worked for me for a stop."
Education is a topic close to dr. Willis' heart.
"Planning this ride, I got challenged by a family member to think about ways in which I can use it to give back," he said "It was a quick jump for me to come to public education. I spent my entire education life to K-12 all the way through my doctoral degree in public schools and spent my entire professional life in public schools."
So far, he's raised more than $10,000, but he says there's more to raise before his ride comes to an end.
"In thinking about public education, it just came down to wanting to say thank you to public schools we passed along the way as a representative for public schools all across the country," Willis said.
He plans to finish in Bar Habor, Maine by August 2.
The best way to follow his journey is his Facebook page, Pedal for Public Schools, which is where you can find the link to donate. He's also on Instagram.