USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - News Advisory National Bicycle Tour Promoting Awareness of US Poverty Concludes in Washington on August 1

News Advisory National Bicycle Tour Promoting Awareness of US Poverty Concludes in Washington on August 1

WASHINGTON (July 23, 2003)

Contacts: Sr. Mary Ann Walsh (202)541-3200 (mwalsh@usccb.org) or Mary Yerrick (301) 320-6888 or (301) 980-8848 (cell), (myerrick@aol.com)

What: Press Conference welcomes cross-country team of cyclists as they pedal into their final destination in Washington. Named Brake the Cycle, the bike tour group traveled nearly 4,000 miles from San Francisco to Washington to raise awareness and educate about U.S. poverty causes and permanent solutions. The riders, ranging in age from 20 to 73, contributed two months of their time to this effort and include seven riders from the Washington area. Cyclists will be available for individual interviews. For more information about the Brake the Cycle of Poverty Bike Tour, visit www.brakethecycle.org.

When: August 1, at 3:30 p.m.

Note: Pre-Press Conference activities 1:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. include: staggered
arrival of cyclists, education program, music, arrival of local solidarity riders from
St. Anthony's parish accompanied by Bishop Murry.

Where: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), 3211 4th Street, NE, Washington, DC.

Who: Organized by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). Participants will include:

Monsignor William P. Fay – General Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Bishop George V. Murry, SJ (Diocese of St. Thomas, VI) – Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Bishop Wilton D. Gregory (Diocese of Belleville, IL) – President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Bishop William S. Skylstad (Diocese of Spokane, WA) – Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Dominic Moulden – Executive Director, The MANNA Community Development Corporation
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick – Archbishop of Washington

Logistics: Television trucks are asked to park on 4th Street. Multbox will be available.

About the Catholic Campaign for Human Development:
Established by the Catholic Bishops of the United States, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is one of the largest private funders of self-help programs initiated and led by low-income people in the United States. Committed to the permanent elimination of poverty and injustice in America, CCHD has offered $260 million in support to more than 4,000 programs nationwide that know no racial or religious boundaries - projects that help create jobs, improve neighborhoods and allow people to find a way out of poverty, not just for a day but for a lifetime.