Bicyclists set off just after 7 a.m. in this 2016 file photo, for the 100-mile route of the annual Lewis County Historic Bicycle Ride at Stan Hedwall Park in Chehalis.
Last year, 673 Lewis County kids received care at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
The local families who made those agonizing trips up I-5 didn’t have to worry about paying for their visits, because the hospital’s uncompensated care fund ensures coverage for those who can’t afford treatment. In all, the fund covered $1,022,420 in care for Lewis County patients in 2017, and some locals want the community to help bolster those efforts.
“They provided over a million dollars of care for our kids,” said Kaci Jones, a member of the Chehalis-based Adaline Coffman Guild. “The least we can do is try and help them with that.”
The Guild was established in 1940 to raise funds to care for local kids who need to visit the hospital, and its annual gala in December and other events have raised about $500,000 since its inception. This year, the Guild is supplementing the formal gala with a bike ride fundraiser.
“We want to do more fundraisers, but we want to have fun doing it,” Jones said. “There are so many ways that we can help these kids that don’t involve you having to get dressed up.”
In that spirit, the Guild is planning its Bike to Brews Benefit for July 21, a six-mile bike ride around the community that will start and end at Dick’s Brewing. For a $40 registration, riders will be guaranteed a beer and a T-shirt, plus the knowledge that their entry will go toward care for local kids.
“We have the most giving, loving community that I’ve ever been a part of,” Jones said. “I’ve never seen a community work so hard to take care of its own people.”
The event is open to those 21 and older, and will start at Dick’s Brewing at 9 a.m. The brewery is opening early for the event. The circuit will take riders past Fort Borst Park, the Olympic Club, Yard Birds, the Lewis County Historical Museum and the Riverside Golf Course, before returning to the brewery.
Registration is open at adalinecoffman.org. Jones didn’t have an estimate for an expected turnout, but she was hopeful the streets will again be jam-packed with riders the weekend after the Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic rolls through town. This time, locals shouldn’t be annoyed with the traffic.
“I would love to blow this out of the water,” she said. “I would love to have so many people sign up that we have to get the city involved. … This is us. These are our people, and they’re doing it for our kids.”
The Guild is also looking to collect stories of local families who are getting care at the hospital and of adults who went there for treatment as kids. Members hope people will turn out to the event to share their experiences. Stories may also be sent to the Guild at adalinecoffmanguild@gmail.com.
