250 bikes and an undocumented number of cars and other vehicles participated in the Ride to Ripley on June 26 where approximately $3,000 were raised in recognition of local organ donor Sarah Renee’ Rhoads. The event had a very specific mission: to honor Sarah and raise funds and awareness for organ donation through Life Connections of Ohio (LCO). Additionally, half of the proceeds are going toward the Sarah Renee’ Rhoads reading fund and the purchase of books for local elementary schools like Sarah’s former school, Westlake of New Carlisle.
Ride to Ripley took bikers from Buckminn’s D & D Harley Davidson of Xenia to Snappers Saloon on the river in Ripley, Ohio. Participants were given an opportunity to play in a poker run in which bikers picked up cards at all 5 stops, playing their full hand at their final destination. 45 baskets were made available to raffle with items inside that were donated by the business community of the Miami Valley. T-shirt sales were enormously popular and all but 2 of the total quantity available at the event were sold.
A large portion of Ride to Ripley was dedicated to education on organ donation. LCO sent their Donate Life Mobile Education Vehicle to accompany riders to each stop. Donor Family Services Coordinator, Tracy Kropp, was amazed by the warm reception Life Connections received. “I had so many people come up to my table and show me the heart on their driver’s license indicating that they are already a registered organ donor,” Kropp said. “I was touched by how gracious everyone was.”
Kropp said that the ongoing relationship with Rhoad’s mother, Becky Johnson, has been a “precious link that is reciprocal in every way.” The Ride to Ripley demonstrated the depth of this connection. “LCO stands by their donor families and give so much hope and purpose to a loss,” Johnson said. “Tracy has become such a wonderful friend and I am so grateful for her.”
Sarah was able to save 5 lives but, according to LCO, donors can potentially save as many as 8. In 2015 alone, the organization coordinated the recovery of organs from 70 donors, providing 203 life-saving organ transplants.
Johnson saw the planning and Ride to Ripley as a perfect opportunity, not only to bring awareness to the courageous act of her daughter but also to heal. “I was able to just walk around and talk with people about Sarah, her organ recipients, and the amazing things Sarah did,” Johnson said. “It was a wonderful experience and I am so thankful for everyone who came and all the friends and family who helped make it possible; I would not have been able to do it without them.”
An accounting of the funds received through the Ride to Ripley has yet to be registered by the committee overseeing the event. Books for the Sarah Renee Rhoads Reading Fund will be purchased through $1 Book Sellers of Dayton, Ohio. The date of official donation has yet to be determined. Johnson projected that books will be received by local elementary schools in time for the fall semester. “It gives me one more thing to plan toward and look forward to in the coming months,” Johnson said. When Sarah was an elementary student, Johnson recalls seeing a memorial badge on the inside of a book her daughter was reading for school. “I want the children who receive books from the fund to see a badge like that,” Johnson said. “They may not know what it means but I want them to connect Sarah’s name with the gift of reading.”
