KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – This week the Illini 4000 team will be biking through Kelseyville as part of a nationwide tour to raise awareness about cancer's impact on America and raise funds for research.
The team will stop at Grace Church at 6 p.m. Friday, July 31, to visit with the community. The public is invited to attend.
The Illini 4000 is a student group and nonprofit organization based out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Every summer, Illini 4000 sends a group of students on a cross-country bicycle trip to fundraise for cancer research, spread information about cancer.
The group said its ride this summer is covering more than 4,500 miles from New York City to San Francisco.
Members of the Illini 4000 also interview those who have been affected by cancer as a part of the Portraits Project.
The Portraits Project is a collection of narratives, also known as Portraits, that demonstrate how cancer affects people across America.
While traveling across the country, riders interview cancer patients and survivors from all walks of life and compile their stories.
The Illini 4000 team will speak at the Grace Church gathering. All community members are welcome, and those willing to share their experience with cancer are strongly encouraged to do so.
The event is free, but the Illini 4000 will accept donations.
Funds raised will go toward the 2015 fundraising total, with proceeds benefiting a variety of charities including the American Cancer Society, Camp Kesem-Illinois, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the B+ Foundation, TLC Camp in Lombard, IL, and Cancer Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Illini 4000 has successfully completed five cross-country trips and raised more than $800,000.
For more information visit www.illini4000.org , www.portraitsproject.org , www.facebook.com/Illini4000 and Twitter/Instagram, @illini4000.