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Fulton, NY – When Dr. Marc Haynes,
senior pastor at the Fulton Alliance Church, was planning the church’s annual
‘Blessing of the Bikes’ ceremony, he saw it as a perfect opportunity to help the
community and add a fundraiser for the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) of Oswego
County.
“We wanted to give back to the
community and felt that supporting the work of the Child Advocacy Center would
be a nice way to do so,” said Haynes.
Haynes, an avid biker himself,
explained that the annual ‘Blessing of the Bikes’ ceremony is a tradition that
the church established several years ago.
“We have a number of bikers at our church and as a result we formed our
own riding group, “Riders of the Son.”
Since that was established we have been holding a special bikers ceremony
followed by a ‘Blessing of the Bikes’ each year. We bless the bikes and pray for the bikers
safety,” he said.
Haynes added that as a way to
build bridges and increase community involvement the church decided to hold this
year’s ‘Blessing of the Bikes’ at Thunder Alley Sports on Route 57 in
Fulton. “We invited bikers from
throughout the area and offered a free chicken barbeque. During the event we collected donations for
the Child Advocacy Center. We also
invited the Director of the CAC, Olivia VanSanford so that she could distribute
information about the CAC and talk to the bikers about the agency’s upcoming
Blue Ribbon Ride Against Child Abuse, said Haynes.
Scheduled for Saturday, August
16th, the CAC’s Blue Ribbon Ride Against Child Abuse is a charity
ride that tours Oswego County exclusively and raises funds to support the
efforts of the CAC and help raise awareness of child abuse in Oswego
County. The ride begins and ends at
Sweet Inspirations Drive In on Route 3 in Fulton. Registration is currently underway for those
interested in riding in this year’s Blue Ribbon Ride Against Child Abuse.
The CAC is a non-profit
organization that works hand-in-hand with local law enforcement, prosecution,
child protective services, medical providers, therapy providers, and victim
advocacy professionals in Oswego County to protect and serve over 150 child
victims of sexual and physical abuse each year.
“We admire Olivia and the work
that she and her staff do at the Child Advocacy Center. They are an important part of our community
and we are proud to support their efforts,” added Haynes.
For more information on the CAC
or their upcoming “Blue Ribbon Ride” Against Child Abuse, you may contact the
CAC at 592-4453.
About ther photo: Dr.
Marc Haynes, Senior Pastor at the Fulton Alliance Church presents Olivia
VanSanford, Director of the Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County with the
donations received during the church’s annual ‘Blessing of the Bikes’ ceremony
held recently at Thunder Alley Sports in Fulton.
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