Man raises funds for abused
children
By Jenny Jones
Summer
Reporter
Richard Propes is a survivor.
Propes was born and is living with spina bifida,
a permanently disabling birth defect that causes failure of the spine.
In addition to suffering from this debilitating
disease, Propes was sexually molested from the age of 8 to about 11
by an older teenager in his neighborhood.
"The strength it has taken to live with spina bifida
is probably the reason I survived the abuse," Propes said.
Because of his survival, Propes will take his wheelchair
through 22 counties in Indiana, from August 5 to the 19, as part of
the Tenderness Tour, to raise money for various children's organizations
across the Midwest. Propes will wheel one mile in memory of each child
that died from abuse or neglect this year; every mile will be traveled
in that child's home county.
Propes will wheel through Lafayette at 5 p.m. on
Aug. 5. He will begin his ride, with a police escort, at Riehle Plaza
and head up Main Street for one mile. Everyone is welcome to follow
Propes as he wheels through Lafayette; guests will also be able to talk
with Propes before and after the event.
Natasha Ransom, junior in the School of Liberal
Arts and member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, said she is glad to hear
about the tenderness tour because child abuse is something that should
be more widely discussed.
This is not the first time Propes will wheel to
raise money for children's organizations. Since 1989, Propes has made
this an annual event and has raised more than $60,000. All of the money
has been raised through fundraisers such as bake sales and raffles;
some donations have also been made.
Although raising money for organizations such as
Indiana Advocates for Children, Reach for Youth and the Indiana School
for the Deaf's Parent/Infant Program, is important to Propes, his main
goal is to educate individuals about child abuse.
Wheeling through a maximum of two counties a day,
Propes said the memorial miles allow for a considerable amount of outreach
time.
Because of Propes activism in child abuse education,
he has received various awards such as the Outstanding Leadership Award
from Prevent Child Abuse, Indiana and the Service to Mankind Award from
Sertoma.
Propes continues to take these tours because he
wants to get the message out that "we can heal ourselves and our communities."
"We truly can prevent child abuse, and we truly
can break the cycle of abuse…I am very much proof of how the cycle
can be broken," Propes said.
• For more information about the tenderness
tour log onto www.tendernesstour.com
|
