As I sat down to diligently write my article for the website, I quickly found that I could not write just 250 words. In fact, I went far beyond my 250-word limit. Well, I took that long article, chopped it down, tweaked it a bit, and that is now viewable HERE. Thankfully, I still held on to that original article and now I shall post it as an open letter right here on my blog. While many of the things said in the article are duplicated elsewhere on this website, I thought that some people might like to read the original. Here it is, for everyone to see:
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It hasn’t even been 4 years since I left Webb and
took my place with DRS Technologies as a Junior NA, but I’ve already been faced
with another decision almost as life-changing as saying “yes” to Steven
Ostendorff in 2006, regarding my acceptance to Webb. A year ago, I was wondering how I’d be able
to run my second-ever 5K after a long winter’s rest, but now I’m trying to figure
out how I’m going to manage riding a bicycle across the US.
I’ve been active since Webb in volunteering on a
small scale, such as working with a local theater and miscellaneous small
events, but I’ve yet to do something that will take me away from my job and
everything comfortable in my life for any significant amount of time, not to mention a few months. That was until last October, when I first heard about this
charitable organization dedicated to the need for affordable housing in the US
by raising funds and awareness through yearly cross-country bicycle trips. This organization is called Bike & Build,
and the prospect of riding in one of their trips took hold in my brain and
festered for only a couple weeks before I finally decided to commit 100% to it.
I will not be alone on my upcoming cross-country
trip. Every summer, Bike & Build
arranges for 8 different groups of up to 34 cyclists (each) to cross this
country from east to west in support of affordable housing. As part of the Bike & Build Southern US
(SUS) route, I will be riding across the US on bicycle from Jacksonville, FL to
Monterey, CA (approx. 4060 miles).
During this trip, we will be not only be spreading awareness of the
affordable housing crisis in every town that we come to and continuing to raise
money for the cause, but we’ll also be stopping to volunteer our time at 12
separate affordable housing build sites along the way. Over the course of the summer, I look forward
to spending a total of 17 days building and 56 days riding from town to town
(an average of 72 miles per day). Along
the way, I will be writing journal entries and posting pictures on my blog at http://crosscountrydan.blogspot.com,
so please stay tuned for stories from the road!
I’ve been reading about student volunteer work in
the WebbNews and I think that it’s a wonderful thing! I’ve had the chance to help out at a few
events during my time at Webb, but in retrospect, I could’ve done much
more. I highly encourage all Webbies,
past and present, to get involved in your local communities and become aware of
the world issues around you. It is not
only important that we stay on top of the big social issues now, but that we
continue to do so throughout our lives.
I don’t know if one person alone can make a difference in the world, but
if we all embrace the task of change on a personal level and do our best with
what we have, I believe we might just make a collective difference. I challenge everyone to consider this and to
make the decision to start making that change from the inside out. Find out what needs to change in you, then
when you make those needed changes, you’ll be able to see more clearly about
the true change needed in the world around you and how you can help.
Yours Truly,
Daniel Snyder (’10)
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