Our 2018 Gala & Awards Dinner was an incredible success thanks to all of you in our warm and generous community. After all of the hard work that we put into planning this event, it was inspiring to see everyone come together to celebrate cycling, to have fun and see the impact we can make at the same time.
We were able to raise over $127,000 for our advocacy and education programs, which is especially important for our scholarship fund since we’ll have 12 BCYC youth graduating next year. Our extreme gratitude goes out to everyone who contributed during the evening and to everyone who supported us ahead of time to make this event possible.
Executive Director Sarah Clark Stuart kicked off the Awards portion of the night by outlining some of our most recent successes for cycling and street safety in Philadelphia, like the passage of the automated speed camera bill and a rise in the bike commuting mode share, not only in the city but throughout the suburban counties, after a several year lull.
BCYC alum and 2018 scholarship recipient Mya Miller reflected on how being a part of BCYC allowed her to successfully face things she had previously been afraid of–challenging hill workouts, public speaking, even choosing a college.
“I was scared: scared of being judged, scared of messing up. As a member of the Youth Advisory Committee, I was picked to go to the 2016 Youth Bike Summit, a gathering of youth cyclists held every year. My first presentation at the Summit I was absolutely terrified, but the crowd loved it. As time went on, I practiced public speaking, whether it be through school, my other leadership programs or BCYC. When the time for my presentation at the 2017 Youth Bike Summit came, I was ecstatic. I literally could not wait to share the presentation my teammates and I had made with everyone.”
Guests then got to hear from Connect the Circuit Award winner Michael DiBerardinis and BCYC Award winner Caitlin Thompson about their work expanding cycling opportunities in the region through infrastructure and programming.
President of the Philadelphia Eagles Don Smolenski closed out the party with his acceptance of the Maguire Award. We recognized the Philadelphia Eagles for their environmental leadership in the sports industry and Smolenski for his role in launching the Eagles Autism Challenge (returning next year on May 18th), a one-day bike ride bringing thousands of cyclists to the city’s streets.
See the highlight photos from the event here, full gallery coming soon!