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Bike race to aid housing charity

Proceeds from the former Battle of Brilliance will benefit East Pasco Habitat for Humanity.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published December 8, 2005

DADE CITY - After six years as a charity fundraiser, the annual Dade Battle of Brilliance Bike Race lacked just one thing: an actual charity behind it.

That's why Kiefer Village Jewels faced so many hurdles over the years as a for-profit business organizing Olympic-style racing to benefit charity.

That is why the race was renamed the Race for Humanity on Wednesday. Organizers hope a new partnership between East Pasco Habitat for Humanity and Kiefer Village Jewels will help keep the event going strong.

Talk to both sides, and it seems like a natural evolution in the history of the race.

"(We) had the very nice idea of "Let's create an event; let's let the proceeds go to charity,"' said Kiefer Village Jewels owner David Hevia. "But what we were missing, which you need for any successful type of promoting activity, was a hook.

"This really unites it and gives us a big hook. You've got an organization that's as well-known as Habitat for Humanity. We've got a very neat theme that brings it all together now."

East Pasco Habitat for Humanity director John Finnerty said the two-day race and festival appeals to his organization in many ways.

"We're always looking for family-oriented type things in order to fundraise, and this is one of the things that appealed to us about the bike race," he said, "Not only are there going to be world-class riders there, but there will also be events families can take part in as well as young folks." The seventh annual race will start Feb. 18 in San Antonio under the new name, along with a new road race bike tour.

Habitat sponsors are already helping out. Florida Medical Clinic has put in a $5,000 sponsorship, the largest the race has received in four years, and Wal-Mart Distribution Center has donated $1,000. Hevia said that money will help the race make up for what the city said it can't provide from its budget this year.

The new race will also have a new wrinkle: Volunteers will erect the frame of a Habitat home during one day's races.

Can they do it that fast?

"We want to give it a shot and see how it goes," Finnerty said, "and I think it will go well."

[Last modified December 8, 2005, 00:50:19]