Cycling for Hope: Minnetonka Bike-a-thon to Raise Funds for China's Orphans

At age 23, Rebekah Wilder is already embarking on her “lifelong dream” of helping children in need.

Wilder is co-founder of Hope Station, a charity that helps orphaned children in China. Hope Station is hosting a bike-a-thon in Minnetonka on Sunday, Aug. 5.

A passion for serving others hit Wilder at a young age. When she was nine, a missionary couple visited her family’s Minnetonka home. 

“They told us about their adventures and interactions with the people of Ecuador,” she said. “I decided that day that I was going to live and help people overseas when I grew up.”

Wilder graduated last year from Northwestern College in Roseville where she earned a degree in intercultural studies and minored in children and family studies.  

During college, Wilder held a three-month internship in a foster home near Beijing. “I taught English and music to orphans of all ages,” said Wilder, who plays piano and flute.

Through that internship, Wilder met a Chinese co-worker who goes by the English name Sara.

“Sara overheard me telling someone that I've always wanted to open a foster home in China, and she shared with me later that she has always wanted to do the same thing,” said Wilder.

The pair founded Hope Station, a charity to help China’s orphans. Hope Station is raising funds to open a home for orphans in Chengdu, a city of about 14 million in southwest China.

Wilder recently spent a month in Chengdu “networking, fundraising, scoping out potential locations, visiting orphanages and spending time with the precious kids there,” she said. 

She is not deterred by the language barrier. “I can carry on simple conversations, especially with kids,” said Wilder, who studied Mandarin in college. “And where my language skills fail, Sara steps in.”

Wilder relies on Sara’s expertise which comes from working with Chinese foster homes for the past eight years. “She knows the ins and outs of foster care in China,” said Wilder. “She has facilitated many adoptions and witnessed lots of children meeting their parents for the first time.”

The biggest challenge?

“We have a lot of money to raise before we can open our doors to receive children,” said Wilder.  

Hope Station plans to raise funds at the bike-a-thon on Sunday afternoon.

“My dad is big into biking, and it was actually his idea,” said Wilder. 

The bike-a-thon will start at Mills Church on Minnetonka Boulevard and Baker Road. Bike routes range from 6-20 miles. Rest stops will be provided and each entrant has a chance to win a gift certificate to Tonka Cycle & Ski.

“Each rider will get a shirt tag to wear with an orphan’s picture on it,” Wilder said.

“Kids are encouraged to ride,” she added. “We want this to be an event the whole family can participate in together.”

Following the ride, everyone is invited to stay for root beer floats, live entertainment and a bouncy house and bike corral for young bikers.

“I would love to see us raise at least $1,000,” Wilder said.  Hope Station has already raised over $3,000 through a sale of donated goods and a benefit concert.

Wilder appreciates the community support. 

“I have come to rely on the help of others who have done things like this before,” she said. “People in our church, college, family and community have been more than willing to come alongside us with advice and encouragement.”  

Hope Station is focusing its efforts on orphaned children with special needs, whose needs are not being met by traditional orphanages. 

“The reality is, the majority of China’s orphans are special needs children,” said Wilder. “Parents who have children with special needs are at a loss for what to do. They assume that the orphanages will be better equipped to care for their child. But the orphanages do not have enough resources to give these kids all they need for their healthy growth and development. The staff is limited and money is tight."

Wilder is committed to helping these children find a “forever family.” There are over 700,000 orphans in China, according to a 2011 report jointly issued by the Chinese government and UNICEF. 

Some children are orphaned due to abandonment, poverty, or the “one child” policy the Chinese government adopted in response to concerns of overpopulation.

“When the one child policy was first created, many of China’s orphans were girls because families wanted boys who could carry on the family name,” Wilder said. “This is not so much an issue anymore. Now, we see primarily special needs kids in the orphanages, and the ratio of boys to girls is pretty equal.”

Finding a home is especially challenging for older orphans. “They are at risk of what we call ‘aging out’,” Wilder explained. “Once an orphan turns 14, he or she is no longer eligible for adoption.”

Wilder has met some of these children, like a boy named Joseph. "I taught him piano lessons for three months, and he is the sweetest, kindest young man you’ll ever meet,” she said. “He is ten months away from turning 14. We are working so hard to spread the word about him so that he can be matched with a family.”

Wilder is planning another trip to China in January 2013.  Despite the challenges, she is not discouraged.

“It has been an amazing journey so far and there is lots to come,” she said.

For more information about Hope Station, visit www.hsorphans.org.