Cottage A Supervisor, Colin Powers, is riding for Ryther on July 12-13, 2014, and shares his motivation for joining the ride: 

“While I have worked at Ryther in a variety of different capacities, one I have been most proud of is as the facilitator of Grief and Loss Group.

“Grief” is a hard concept for adults to define, and I expected it to be hard for the kids to define as well.  Unfortunately, our kids at Ryther are so familiar with the concept of grief, the harder part turned out to be teaching them that grief is “supposed to” be something that you experience intermittently, not continuously.

One exercise we do is to put on our “grief backpacks.”  We then add objects (weights, jugs of water, bocce balls, blocks of clay) to the backpack, one for each significant loss experienced in their short lives.  We then work on simple daily tasks, such as picking up after ourselves, going to brush teeth, walking to school, or getting started on homework.  As the kids feel how hard these tasks become, how tired they get, and how frustrated they get carrying this backpack everywhere, I explain the metaphor.  Even the youngest kids in the group can understand when I say they are carrying that much weight with them in their hearts.

This weekend, I will be riding 202 miles from Seattle to Portland, in support of these kids.  Every time it feels like too much, too hard, and too tiring, I think of the kids who are going through every day carrying too much, which makes it too hard and too tiring.  I am riding for them.

We are less than $5,000 away from making our $20,000 goal and I know we can get there with your help. Consider showing your support for the kids, by making a contribution today. Thank you for your generosity.”