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TD Bank - Five Borough Bike Tour - May 1, 2011

Aviva Stern lost her vision, but not her zest for life.  On May 1^st, 2011, Aviva hopes to complete the TD Bank Five Borough Bike Tour through New York City as a member of the CanVelo Bike team.  She will be coming from Israel with three other team members and two tandem bikes.

CanVelo, formed in conjunction with the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, is a way for visually impaired people to participate in a group activity that combines fitness with camaraderie.  Sighted volunteers ride in front and the blind riders are in back, as the team takes on and off-road adventures through a different part of Israel almost every weekend.  The group has grown to over 60 members, and visitors are encouraged to join in.

In keeping with the motto, Yes We Can, the CanVelo team hopes to raise awareness and the $10,000 needed to bring the riders to New York.  In addition, we're hoping to raise $100,000 to sponsor a class of guide dogs with their partners. 

"This is the first time that we will leave Israel for a ride, and we are very excited about it," reports Brig. Gen. Moti Regev (ret), who is the driving force behind the project.  "Our goal is to raise awareness about the obstacles that visually impaired people face in Israel, and also to show that the human spirit can overcome many challenges.  We're hoping to find generous people to make our dream come true."

Aviva began slowly losing her sight at the age of 8.  At first she had difficulty seeing at night, and her condition deteriorated gradually until she was trapped in darkness.  Aviva was determined to, "Control the blindness and not let blindness control me."  She chose to get a Guide Dog to restore her ability to move freely without assistance from her family or friends.

Welcomed to the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, Aviva received her third dog, a playful Golden Retriever named Pele.  Thrilled to get a dog trained in Hebrew, Aviva uses Pele to navigate around Israel's challenging landscape, including security barriers, traffic circles, cars parked on the sidewalk and inconsiderate drivers.  "Having such a professional school here in Israel is extremely helpful," she says, "before the Center opened, a blind person had to speak English and travel abroad for a professionally trained guide dog."

The Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind was founded in 1991 and transforms the lives of blind Israelis by providing mobility, independence, self confidence and companionship through the faithful assistance of guide dog partners.  Located in Beit Oved, just 20 minutes south of Tel Aviv, they breed and raise the puppies (with the assistance of volunteer puppy raisers - many of whom are University students), then train the guide dogs, and match them with the blind clients who come to the Center for three weeks of intensive training, plus an additional week in their homes.  The process of creating a Partnership takes just under two years and costs $25,000.  Yet these services are provided free of charge.

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