Chase Teachers Ride 103 Miles to Support World Bicycling Relief

Waterbury, CT--Chase Collegiate School Art Department Chair Russ Brockmann was elated last year when piles of empty bottles and cans began stocking up in his art studio.  Brockmann, who has been at the School for over 30 years, had a plan for the recyclables: he was getting the five-cent returns and using the proceeds to purchase bikes for children in Africa. Through the campaign, Brockmann bought three bikes for World Bicycling Relief.

But the veteran teacher isn’t stopping there. He has enlisted fellow faculty member, Jim Wigren, of Waterbury and Chair of the History Department, to spend the first weekend of school in Maryland participating in the Civil War
Century. The Century is a 103-mile bike ride through three historic battlefield grounds that the two teachers will complete to fundraise for more bikes.

Wigren says he was naturally drawn to an expedition so
steeped in history.  “Russ brings the relationship with World Bicycling Relief, so combining the history with riding and philanthropy seemed logical.  It also helps to address Chase’s focus on global citizenship.”

Connecting the classroom to global issues is a growing focus of the School’s curriculum in all grades. In the Lower School, students have a global reach to a school in Zambia called Kondwa Center. Kindergarten teacher Ginger Clarke co-founded Friends of Zambian Orphans (FOZO) to promote nutrition and education at the African school.  Upper School students have connected their leadership skills with a multi-year hosting of the nationwide program INSPI(RED)SOCCER,  a partnership that uses soccer to educate, inspire and mobilize communities to stop the spread of HIV.

Wigren and Brockmann hope that their ride will start the
school year off with in the right direction: a connection between a passion for history, a compassion for others and the love of cycling.  Their goal with their Civil War ride is to
raise enough money to buy a minimum of 50 more bikes at $134 each. The bikes are used by children and their families in rural, poor areas of Africa to improve access to education, healthcare and economic opportunity. Access to bicycles “increases carrying capacity and accessible travel distance while decreasing the time it takes to commute to and from schools, clinics and markets,” says World Bicycling Relief, which was founded in 2004 to address basic transportation needs following a devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia. Since then, the organization has provided over 97,000 bicycles to men, women and students in Sri Lanka and Africa.

For more information about the ride or to make a donation,
please contact Rusty Brockmann atrbrockmann@chasemail.org or send your donations to Mr. Russell Brockmann c/o Chase Collegiate School  565 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT  06708.