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Faculty > Retired professor rides cross-country for community
Retired professor rides cross-country for community
June 29, 2015
[caption id="attachment_4795" align="alignleft" width="395"]
Don Armel at Mesa Verde National Park[/caption]
Professor Emeritus Don Armel has long awaited the chance to put his Harley Davidson travel bike to good use on a cross-country trip. After retiring in December, he decided May was the month he would set out for the West Coast.
“This trip has always been something I wanted to do, part of a bucket list if you will,” he said. “I have the large touring Harley Davidson motorcycle and wanted to use it to its ultimate potential.”
And he did just that, taking his Georgia Southern spirit along the way as he stopped at historic national landmarks like Mesa Verde, Devil’s Tower and the Grand Canyon. But not only was Armel taking the journey, he decided to use the trip as a way to give back to his community by raising money for the Statesboro Food Bank and Rebecca’s Cafe.
“Food, shelter and safety are basic needs, and if you think about it, one shelter can last a long time but one meal lasts the portion of a day,” he said. “So we’re constantly in need of food and the folks here at the Food Bank are really doing a good job in collecting food and recruiting volunteers, but their deficit is money.”
So throughout his 7,000-plus mile journey from Statesboro to the West Coast and back, Armel challenged people to donate one-half of a cent per mile that he traveled, which equated to about $35, he said. Currently, he’s raised more than $5,000 to donate to the Food Bank.
“Food is a basic need. It’s hard to think about other things if you’re hungry all the time,” Armel said. “It’s hard to get a good education if you’re stomach is growling, and it’s hard to think about advancing yourself as a parent or a worker if all you can think about is ‘where am I getting food for tonight.’”
Although hunger has been a nationally trending topic for quite some time, Armel said he wanted to focus his attention on local needs.
“Bulloch County is a poor county among many other counties in the South, and this just happens to be where I live,” he said. “I wanted to do something for my little corner of the world and this seems to be a fairly important topic.”
He’s just one of many on campus to support the Food Bank and Rebecca’s Cafe. The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art each fall hosts the Empty Bowl Project to raise funds for the Food Bank, and many students volunteer throughout the year as well.
“Getting students sensitized to people who are less advantaged is a good thing. To learn to have some empathy early on--not so much sympathy but being able to understand how people are struggling and hopefully do something about it continuously--that can only be a good thing,” he said.
Armel hopes to continue helping the Food Bank by raising funds in any way possible. He’s searching for grants the facility could potentially use and will keep the
Go Fund Me site created for the effort open for donations. He also hopes to encourage students and other folks on campus and in the community to help in any way they can.
To see more photos and updates from Armel's ride, visit his
Facebook page.
Don Armel at Mesa Verde National Park[/caption]
Professor Emeritus Don Armel has long awaited the chance to put his Harley Davidson travel bike to good use on a cross-country trip. After retiring in December, he decided May was the month he would set out for the West Coast.
“This trip has always been something I wanted to do, part of a bucket list if you will,” he said. “I have the large touring Harley Davidson motorcycle and wanted to use it to its ultimate potential.”
And he did just that, taking his Georgia Southern spirit along the way as he stopped at historic national landmarks like Mesa Verde, Devil’s Tower and the Grand Canyon. But not only was Armel taking the journey, he decided to use the trip as a way to give back to his community by raising money for the Statesboro Food Bank and Rebecca’s Cafe.
“Food, shelter and safety are basic needs, and if you think about it, one shelter can last a long time but one meal lasts the portion of a day,” he said. “So we’re constantly in need of food and the folks here at the Food Bank are really doing a good job in collecting food and recruiting volunteers, but their deficit is money.”
So throughout his 7,000-plus mile journey from Statesboro to the West Coast and back, Armel challenged people to donate one-half of a cent per mile that he traveled, which equated to about $35, he said. Currently, he’s raised more than $5,000 to donate to the Food Bank.
“Food is a basic need. It’s hard to think about other things if you’re hungry all the time,” Armel said. “It’s hard to get a good education if you’re stomach is growling, and it’s hard to think about advancing yourself as a parent or a worker if all you can think about is ‘where am I getting food for tonight.’”
Although hunger has been a nationally trending topic for quite some time, Armel said he wanted to focus his attention on local needs.
“Bulloch County is a poor county among many other counties in the South, and this just happens to be where I live,” he said. “I wanted to do something for my little corner of the world and this seems to be a fairly important topic.”
He’s just one of many on campus to support the Food Bank and Rebecca’s Cafe. The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art each fall hosts the Empty Bowl Project to raise funds for the Food Bank, and many students volunteer throughout the year as well.
“Getting students sensitized to people who are less advantaged is a good thing. To learn to have some empathy early on--not so much sympathy but being able to understand how people are struggling and hopefully do something about it continuously--that can only be a good thing,” he said.
Armel hopes to continue helping the Food Bank by raising funds in any way possible. He’s searching for grants the facility could potentially use and will keep the Go Fund Me site created for the effort open for donations. He also hopes to encourage students and other folks on campus and in the community to help in any way they can.
To see more photos and updates from Armel's ride, visit his Facebook page.