BELOIT — Martin Reza, the father to three students at Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) School in Beloit, is doing his part to help other parents afford a Catholic education for their children.
In addition to volunteering at the school’s monthly taco tuition fundraiser, for the last two years he has been spending his summers biking all around southern Wisconsin to raise money for OLA’s tuition assistance program.
The first year, he biked 250 miles and raised $7,000. The second year, he biked 300 miles and was able to raise $10,000. This year, though, he plans to bike a full 24 hours, estimating that he will complete a 340-mile trip. The goal this year, again, is to raise $10,000.
For comparison, Reza said that professional athletes don’t generally bike more than 100 miles in an average long distance marathon.
A challenge
“It’s a very, very challenging ride,” said Reza. “It’s about like going from Beloit to Green Bay and back, but the route is going to be around the south [part] of the state.”
The ride, referred to as 24 Hour Ride for Education, will take off starting at 12 noon on Saturday, June 24, and end at 12 noon the following day, leaving Reza room only for short breaks to eat, hydrate, and take care of himself, though he says he does not plan to sleep.
Principal Trevor Seivert said, “When [Reza] proposed the idea of it being a 24-hour bike ride, my first inclination was, ‘you’re crazy.’ My second thing is that I was honestly worried about his safety, but he was just so ‘I got this. I got this. I’ve always wanted to do this and what better way to do it than for the school.’”
Reza said he has been cycling for the last 20 years.
“I have been racing and doing all kinds of events,” he said. “I do my training year round, outdoors, and you know winter here in Wisconsin — cycling is not a winter sport, but I still do training. I literally only do like five percent of the training indoors.”
Reza, though, will not be without assistance. A support vehicle will follow him on his journey, providing him with the necessary supplies and ultimately ensuring someone is keeping an eye on his safety.
Outside of cycling, Reza said his life is pretty normal. “I have a normal job, I have three kids, and I have normal duties. I’m a cradle Catholic so I try to pray the Rosary in the morning every day; our family prayer at night.”
Supporting OLA
A part of Reza’s passion for supporting other families at the school comes from his appreciation for what the school offers.
“About three or four years ago, [Reza], along with 32 other students, actually came to OLA because their school and church right across the border in South Beloit had closed,” said Seivert. “We welcomed all the these families to OLA [at] whatever tuition amount they had at their former parish. We felt they lost their school, but we didn’t want them to lose their Catholic education.”
However, this choice to help these families came at a loss to tuition revenue.
“The tacos along with [Reza’s] Ride for Education covers almost half the needs for tuition assistance,” said Seivert.
During this past school year, around $56,000 went out in tuition assistance for some 54 students from low-income families.
In the meantime, Seivert said enrollment at OLA is the highest it’s been in the seven years he’s been principal.
“We are up to 168 students this school year,” said Seivert. “Because of families like [the Rezas], we are going to be able to continue to offer Catholic education to a lot of our families.”
Visit olabeloit.com/ride/ to view the biking route and to donate to the 24 Hour Ride for Education. Donations will be accepted from now through a couple of weeks past the event.