Erica Bellor of West Branch, a 2003 Ogemaw Heights graduate, is preparing for a 300-mile bicycle tour this summer to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Courtesy photos
The Central Michigan University Physical Therapy team includes (l-r) Megan Black of Eaton Rapids, Nikki Gordon of Traverse City, Justin Streefkerk of St. Claire Shores, Sally Engler of Mt. Pleasant, Mel Myers of Milford, and Erica Bellor of West Branch. All are first-year Physical Therapy graduate students at CMU.

MT. PLEASANT - Erica Bellor hopes to make a career out of working with people that have to deal with physical ailments. The 2003 Ogemaw Heights graduate and current Central Michigan University graduate student wasn't sure she'd get to make a big impact while she was still in school.

That changed a year ago when she stood at the finish line of the Wish-a-Mile 300 bicycle tour in support of a friend who had cycled with about 800 people for 300 miles as part of the primary fundraiser for the Michigan chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“I followed my friend through the process of training and fundraising,” she said. “But when I went to see the finish of the race, it really sparked something in me.”

The Make-A-Wish foundation grants children facing life-threatening medical conditions the wish of their choice, which covers the gamut of what the children themselves can dream up. The “wishes,” which typically range to a once-in-a-lifetime vacation; a shopping spree or something they have wanted but likely can't afford due to the financial burdens of their medical condition; the chance to meet a celebrity, athlete or other famous person; or the chance to be an astronaut or other occupation of their dreams for a day.

At the finish line of the Wish-A-Mile ride, the cyclists are cheered on by Wish Heroes: children who are going to be recipients of such wishes, many of whom will attend despite suffering symptoms of diseases such as Hodgkins Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, brain tumors and countless others. Each team of riders is assigned a Wish Hero, who greet them individually with medals after they finish.

“I stood with a little girl who was a Wish Hero at last year's race and I can still hear the excitement in her voice,” Bellor said. “And the looks on the faces of the riders as they came in and saw those kids cheering for them was amazing.

“On one hand the kids are thinking the world of you for doing this, but really we're thinking the world of them for all of what they've had to go through and their perseverance. It's a very emotional day.”

Each wish costs an average of $8,000. The number of wishes is determined by the amount of funding raised; last year the Michigan foundation granted 167 wishes and has fulfilled about 5,000 since 1984. The foundation's goal is to fun 200 wishes through this year's efforts.

“They just find a way to make it happen,” Bellor said. “Sometimes it seems like there's not a lot you can do as a student to make a difference because time and money is so limited. But part of what makes this great is that I can see the progress even though I've been busy with school.”

Bellor and five teammates will embark on the WAM ride from Traverse City to Chelsea, with stops in Big Rapids and St. John's, riding about 6-12 hours a day. In addition to working out physically, they must each raise a minimum of $750 to participate. Thus far Bellor's team has raised nearly $2,500, including more than $1,750 by Bellor herself.

Her initial goal was to raise $2,000, but upped that to $2,500 as her early fundraising efforts bore plenty of fruit. Among teams of 20 or fewer riders, the CMU Physical Therapy team currently ranks seven out of 25 in fundraising dollars. Bellor, Melissa Myers of Milford, Megan Black (Eaton Rapids), Sally Engler (Mt. Pleasant), Nikki Gordon (Traverse City ) and Justin Streefkerk (St. Clair Shores) are , all first-year physical therapy graduate students).

“I signed up at Thanksgiving and at Christmas I got a lot of letters out,” she said. “My teammates signed up later and haven't had a chance to do some of that yet. A lot of people have been really interested, and as I've talked to people I just keep hearing all these stories of how Make-A-Wish has affected someone a friend or a relative of theirs.”

Bellor, multi-sport athlete at Ogemaw Heights, has done plenty of cycling over the years, but nothing on this scale.

“I used to mountain bike at our cottage in the UP, but this is my first time riding a lot on a road bike,” she said. “It's taking a bit to get used to the skinnier tires. I've stayed active through my undergraduate years, but this is a totally different form of training.”

Bellor and her teammates have taken advantage of cycling classes in the CMU activity center but haven't had a chance to do a lot of outdoor riding yet thanks to this year's snowy winter.

“The most I've ever gone in a day is 20-30 miles, but that was mountain biking,” she said. “This will be 100 miles a day, but there will be a lot of support. Every 15-20 miles there will be stops with food, massage therapists and whatever we need.”

Donations raised by Bellor and her team will all go to the Make-A-Wish foundation. They don't cover the cost of her new bicycle or their jerseys, but they've gotten some help with some of those additional costs as well.

“CMU's public relations department has been a big help and has been really supportive,” she said. “They're providing our jerseys. They've helped turn this into kind of a huge event.”

Nothing will be bigger for Bellor, though, than the thought of crossing the finish line and knowing how much it will mean to for the children and families that have had to cope with illnesses, treatments, surgeries, pain and worry.

“I was involved with (other fundraisers) but this one is a little different because of how personal it is,” Bellor said. “You can see your efforts, you get to meet the kids, talk to them and see their excitement.

“Our (physical therapy) program focuses on medical conditions, so it's neat to be able to be helping these kids fight these amazing battles in this roundabout way. Eventually these are the sorts of things that we'll see in clinics, so it makes it a little more meaningful for us.”

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To sponsor Erica, visit her donation page on the Wish-A-Mile Bicycle Tour website at http://netcommunity.wishmich.org. Click on “donate” and select the rider of your choice.

For the internet-challenged, make a check out to Make-A-Wish Foundation and send it to:

Erica Bellor, 4490 Sterling Way, Apt. 1524, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

Other web resources:

Direct link to Erica's fundraising page: here

Video on Wish-A-Mile: here