In the News!

Here's a few links to some articles that have been printed:

northfield.org (Minnesota)
Asian American Press (Minnesota)
Daily Astorian (Oregon)

And one from Northfield News:

PARKER BIKES FOR A CAUSE
Northfielder plans bike trip to help raise funds for Vietnam school
By Lisa Gulya, Staff Intern

NORTHFIELD -- Piles of trash fester in the sun. Vegetables rot. Maggots hatch. Diapers steam.
For more than 300 children in southern Vietnam, this garbage dump is home. The euphemism "landfill" falls short here.

During a March visit, Northfield resident Caroline Ticarro-Parker learned of these children who cannot attend school, scavenge for recyclables all day long and risk being bought by sex traffickers. Government officials contacted her to help. Caroline decided to raise $40,000 through the Catalyst Foundation, a nonprofit organization which she co-founded to serve Vietnamese youth. The money will pay for the construction of a four-room school, textbooks and teacher salaries. Caroline's husband and Catalyst Foundation co-founder, Scott Parker, decided to attract pledges by mounting a 2,000-mile bike ride from Oregon to Northfield.
Scott starts his two-week ride on Aug. 17 from Astoria, Ore., and he plans to be back in Northfield on Labor Day.

He bicycles frequently, often leaving the car at home in Northfield to cycle the 42 miles to his St. Paul workplace. With all the miles he's racked up, Scott feels physically ready.
"I don't think of this as work," Scott said. "Though I'm a little nervous about climbing through the Rocky Mountains." Scott's sister, carrying food and extra bicycle parts, will drive the route with him.

In Vietnam, more than 20 percent of people live in poverty, according to a 2004 estimate by the CIA World Factbook. A typical poor, rural family in southern Vietnam earns less than $400 annually, Scott said. As of Friday, the Parkers had received more than $7,000 in donations for the school. The Parkers hope to build the school on government-donated land before monsoon season begins in November.

"We could have just as easily said, 'We're doing this project, please donate money,'" Scott said. However, he thought biking could spur people to think, "If this guy's committed enough to go ride his bike 2,000 miles, then I can write a check."

Scott is prepared for the weather on the ride, whatever it may be. "If it's as hot as it was last week, we'll take it real slow," he said. But, he said, one thing will urge him to keep up his pace: his daughters. "I'm going to be missing my kids something ferocious," Scott said.

Donations can be made through catalystfoundation.org, or sent to the Catalyst Foundation at 710 St. Olaf Ave. Northfield, MN 55057 or online at www.catalystfoundation.org.

Scott will blog about his trip on the Catalyst Foundation Web site.

-- To comment call 645-1116 or write editor@northfieldnews.com