Four Great Lakes, One Great Cause

Starting at Portage (Mich.) Central High School, Alex Hufford and Max Newman began a thousand-mile bike ride to four of the five Great Lakes. The ride was part of a self-started fundraising campaign titled “4 Great Lakes, 1 Great Cause” for clean water in Cambodia.

“My best friend, Max Newsome, and I will be biking 1,016 miles, touching four of the five Great Lakes (excluding Ontario) starting on August 2,” said Hufford before the ride. “The need for clean water in Cambodia is very high.”

After attending a middle school camp led by Activewater co-founder Daren Wendell, the two teens decided to raise funds for clean water.

“He really used his passion for clean water to help fuel our passion,” said Hufford.

The two teens made pit stops at relatives houses, campgrounds, hotels, and friends’ houses. They stopped for water breaks and to fuel up for the next leg of their ride.

“Each day we were on our bikes for around 10 hours. Some [days] were shorter, depending on where we were and how tired we were,” said Hufford.

The teens use their website 4gl1gc.com to raise awareness; donors made pledges before the ride. By the end of their journey, Newman and Hufford had raised $6,000 for a new well in Cambodia.

“A huge thank you to Baylee Kinkade, Arika Jimenez, and Truclam Nguyen for their help,” said Hufford, “along with our sponsors Centerpoint Church, Team Active Fitness and Cycling, American Screen Printing, and Crossfit AZO.”