Shameless attempt to get donations for a charity ride I organize

Scavenger hunt bike ride meets the future of food drives

Hi everyone,

Hello from Milwaukee, where I’ve been up since 4:30am packing and prepping to take my niece on her first-ever camping trip today. Thanks to everyone who responded to my camping pitch call 2 weeks ago and apologies that I couldn’t respond to everyone. I got loads of responses and couldn’t accommodate even some that would have been a good fit.

I’m writing today about an annual charity event that I organize called Brooklyn Cranksgiving and it’s basically a super fun scavenger hunt bike ride where people race around central Brooklyn answering trivia questions, doing goofy stunts, finding and taking pictures of BK- and bike-specific stuff, all while raising money for food access. If you live in NYC, I’d love if you join the ride. Otherwise, check the Cranksgiving website to see if there is a ride near you (there are dozens across the country!)

If you didn’t know, before I transitioned to full-time writing, I worked in community development and food justice, specifically around improving healthy food access in underserved communities. I also taught plant-based nutrition at a few elementary schools in Harlem and the Bronx and taught food and fitness classes at senior centers in Brooklyn.

Cranksgiving started as a race to buy Thanksgiving-themed canned/boxed food to donate to pantries and that’s how most cities still run the ride. When I founded the Brooklyn ride 9 years ago, I shifted the structure to focus on fresh foods and then to donating money instead of food. While many of us grow up learning that you battle hunger by donating to food drives, this is an extremely inefficient use of funds and it’s a band-aid solution for a massive systemic injustice problem. Working to improve food justice and overall access is a more long-term approach so that’s why we raise money for organizations doing that work instead of collecting food to donate to pantries. This gives them greater purchasing power and allows them to buy exactly what they need, versus whatever someone feels like donating. A local TV news station did a short video segment about the ride last year if you want to watch.

Anyway….this is the 9th anniversary of the ride (check out the Eventbrite link here or see our Instagram account for more pics and info) and I’m shamelessly seeking donations. Not only do donations get people excited about the ride, but when we get a lot of donations, we actually auction them off to raise more money for our food justice partners. One year, the auction brought in an extra $500.

As a bike-themed ride, of course we are interested in receiving bike helmets, locks, jerseys, and all things bike, but we are also happy to receive pretty much anything that riders could get excited about. In the past, we’ve received bottles of whiskey, yoga and gym memberships, and restaurant certificates. Some of my subscribers here event sent random items like water filters (thanks Brita, they were actually really popular!)

The ride is on Saturday, November 10th so I’d need to receive donations by November 8th. If you want to donate to the ride, please respond with “BROOKLYN CRANKSGIVING” in the subject, along with the name of the product/service you’d like to donate.

Thanks so much and have a great weekend!

Cassandra

P.S. More fun ride pics below