Anchor House Keeps it Local for 43rd Annual Ride for Runaways

The eight-day hybrid Anchor House Ride for Runaways will kick off Saturday, July 10, at 8 a.m. from Princeton Shopping Center in Princeton, NJ. This year’s edition Ride for Runaways, which benefits the Trenton social services agency Anchor House, will feature eight local routes totaling 500 miles in and around Mercer County through July 17.

This year’s fundraising activities kicked off June 5 with a six-week, 100-mile walk and a six-week, 500-mile bike ride during which participants covered distances at their own pace and time. The Ride For Runaways usually features a seven-day, 500-mile bike beginning at locations in Upstate New York, New England or Virginia.

In addition to the July 10 Princeton Shopping Center kickoff, other 60-mile routes will depart from Robbinsville (Mercer-Bucks Cardiology), July 11; Allentown, NJ, (Byron Johnson Park), July 12; Titusville (Nelson House at Washington Crossing State Park), July 13; Robbinsville (Community Park), July 14; Bordentown Township (Northern Community Park), July 15; Allentown, NJ, (Mark Harbourt Soccer Complex), July 16; and Lawrence Township (Rosedale Park), July 17. Each day’s ride starts at 8 a.m.

About 35 riders will participate in the eight-day event. More than 100 riders are in the process of completing 500 miles in a six-week timeframe. In addition, a 100-mile walk attracted 67 participants who are completing that event by doing solo walks or joining in Anchor House-organized walks in Veterans Park in Hamilton, Mercer County Park in West Windsor and on the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail.

“For our riders, this year’s hybrid event is just like the regular Anchor House Ride but without the bus trip and the hotel stays,” Ride Committee Co-Chair Laura Carlson said. “This is the second year the pandemic disrupted our usual way of doing things and we’ve been able to adapt our ride to these changing circumstances while keeping our focus on our mission: raising money for the homeless, abused and runaway youth who come to Anchor House because they have nowhere to go.”

Ride Co-Chair DeWayne Tolbert said he hoped this year’s event will build on the success of the 2020 Ride For Runaways, which raised more than $500,000 through two cycling and one walk option, all virtual.

“The Anchor House family really rallied to support our kids last year during the height of the pandemic and we’re hoping for a similar response this year, when out of an abundance of caution we decided to keep the Ride local.” Tolbert said. “These past two years have been special for us because we’ve been able to expand our participant base by extending the timeframe for completing the 500-mile ride and adding a walking event. We’re grateful to have such community support.”

Routes for the eight-day event were selected by members of the 16-member Ride for Runaways Committee, said Kathy Drulis, Director of Operations for the Anchor House Foundation, which sponsors the Ride For Runaways and related fundraising events.

“We decided to start the ride in Princeton because several of our participants live or work there,” Drulis said. “Princeton has always been very supportive of the Ride For Runaways and the Princeton Shopping Center people have been very helpful in organizing our sendoff activities.”

Founded in 1978, Anchor House is a multi-program social services agency serving homeless, abused and runaway youth and their families in the Mercer County area. Anchor House is also part of a nationwide network of shelters serving runaway youth. The agency provides shelter, school outreach, transitional and supportive housing and street outreach to young people ages 12 to 21.

For more information or to sponsor a rider on the Ride for Runways, please visit www.anchorhouseride.org.