GoHawkeye grant helps Ben Hulin buy handcycle

Ben on his Hammerhead full suspension off road handcycle.

Ben Hulin received a $1750 GoHawkeye Foundation equipment grant to finish the fundraising and buy his dream handcycle. This is his report on fundraising and enjoying his new bike. 

My wife works in a school and I am a teacher so we both get the summers off. We traveled back to the Midwest and see friends and family. It has been a great trip so far. I was able to bring my bike and although there are not many mountains in the flatlands of Indiana, it had been fun to ride and dial the bike in through the summer as well as show it to the many people that supported its build along the way. It has been amazing to see the support come in.

In response to how fundraising has happened for me, I would just encourage people to ask. I had no idea of the GoHawkeye Foundation until a friend told me about it and then I did some researching. Once someone has been able to find organizations willing to help then the ask just needs to happen. I have learned through the years that the worst thing that someone can say to an ask is just a no. When that is the answer there are other options and you just need to keep looking for other options or other people that can help.

Ben riding the Hammerhead from ReActive Adaptations.

In my initial ask process I was able to ask an organization that spearheaded the first part of the build. After that I was able to start a gofund me page and it was amazing to see how much came in through crowd funding. It matched up to giving Tuesday and it was neat to see the support. I was able to make a bumper sticker of all the people and organizations that were able to help out. When I was close the the funding requirement for the build and that is when the GoHawkeye Foundation and a few others came through in the end.

Jake at Reactive Adaptations did a great job and it has been awesome showing the bike to the many people that made this possible. I am excited to try it out in my home mountains of Utah!

Thank you again for the support. I am excited to be part of the organization. You helped out so much and I appreciate it so much.