Steve Mister's Ten-Year Commitment to Bike to the Beach and Autism Advocacy
It was ten years ago that Steve Mister lined up for his first Bike to the Beach ride. He had begun biking in his forties after a knee surgery had limited his options for cardio exercise, becoming a regular cyclist. One weekend, he was on his way to the beach when he saw people on the side of the road biking all wearing the same jersey. He kept passing them and eventually figured out they were all rocking the same Bike to the Beach jersey. Intrigued, Steve decided to hop on his computer and do some research when he got back home. That year, Steve was turning 50 and decided that the 100 mile Bike to the Beach Washington DC & Maryland ride would be a fun way to test himself. When he realized that it was a fundraising event, he asked that his friends donate $50 or multiples of that number if they were feeling generous in lieu of birthday gifts or a party. It was a fun experience, and it wasn’t until he had crossed the finish line that first time that Steve realized the money being raised was going towards autism support organizations.
Although he had not had anyone in his direct family diagnosed with autism, Steve had gotten plenty of experience with the challenges having a child with autism can present during his time teaching children at his church. Over the course of the twelve years he spent teaching the class, Steve had handfuls of children who were on the spectrum. Many were high-functioning, but more than a few needed to have a parent in the class with them to help them out. The experience gave Steve a great appreciation for the challenges having a child with autism can present to parents, and left him feeling fortunate. He tapped into this experience when he began riding with Bike to the Beach, using it as motivation when the ride got tough or when he began his fundraising campaigns.
Throughout the years, Steve’s fundraising technique has remained relatively unchanged. With each passing year, he adds on a dollar to continue matching his age when he sends out his requests for donations. He has found that by keeping the asking number relatively low, people are much more likely to contribute. Of course people are always welcome to donate as much as they please, or less if that’s all they can set aside. Given that the DC ride is usually at the end of July, Steve spends the 4th of July working his way through the list of those who have given in the past which has grown to 75 to 80 people in total. After checking to make sure all the contact information is still correct, he sends out his email and waits for the responses to come back. Usually within 3-4 days, Steve has managed to rack up around $5,000 in donations, occasionally needing to send out reminder emails. Over the years, Steve has found that many of his donors have personal connections to the autism community which has led to many fantastic conversations and personal stories behind the donations being shared.
