Let's Go Mike!

Mike Dacey, just before his incredible bike ride fundraiser!

Over the past week, friend of Elevate Youth Mike Dacey conquered the 300-mile VTXL Bike Route, all in the name of EY!

The VTXL Bike Route trail is nearly continuous dirt through all of Vermont, stretching from the border of Massachusetts to Canada. The trail accumulates over 30,600 feet of elevation with a peak at 2,761 feet. Bikepacking.com tells us that 90% of this trail is unpaved and includes some rocky navigation. The VTXL Bike Route takes most experienced bikepackers (that’s backpacking while biking!) a week to complete. It was no match for Mike!

Part way through his ride, Mike tells our top-secret inside source (Cam Regan, Director of Programming and Operations), "I’m about 130 miles in on day 3 today. After a lot of rain yesterday it looks like clear skies for the weekend. Cell service has been pretty spotty/nonexistent so I haven’t been able to post many updates but I’m so stoked to see that we’re already past the $3000 mark!"

Mike did it to create opportunities and increase access for young people to get outdoors, and fundraising for Elevate Youth all along the way! 

Last fall, Mike had a similar mission: to hike for EY. He shares on Instagram that in one day, he ran up 5 peaks: Killington, Abraham, Ellen, Camels Hump, and Mansfield, totaling over 25 miles on-trail in under 10 hours. His initial goal was to raise $1,000 for EY, and was absolutely blown away when $5k in donations arrived in less than a week. This year, his longer and more intense biking journey caused us to raise the bar: our new goal was $5,000.

We are so excited to share that a whopping 81 donors supported Mike on his ride and Elevate Youth in our mission: we smashed our goal once again to raise $8k for our kids! Every penny raised is going directly to supporting Elevate Youth and our programming. Each donation makes the outdoors accessible, empowers underserved youth, and gets kids outside. Our donors help EY offer experiences in hiking, camping, surfing, climbing, and more to nearly 300 kids in the Boston area. 

We are so appreciative of Mike for undertaking this incredible feat in support of Elevate Youth.. The money he raised will allow us to continue to facilitate high-impact outdoor programming for Boston kids who need it most. Thank you, Mike!

Feeling inspired? If you’ve got an impressive feat you’ve been meaning to try, a new way to raise money, or just a passion for Elevate Youth’s mission, consider starting your own personal fundraiser just like Mike. EY is all ears on new ways to bring our community together to support our youth.

If organizing and planning aren’t your forte, we’ve got quick ways to support EY too. Consider making a donation in the name of someone you love, giving monthly to support us year-round, or joining our staff as a volunteer on an upcoming trip. Our community in Boston and beyond are essential to the outdoor programs we develop for our youth, so thank YOU!

Mike Dacey, VTXL Champ and EY Supporter!