School Specialty CEO, Ryan Bohr, at home with his bike

School Specialty CEO Ryan Bohr is going the distance for education. He's biking 335 miles of winding trails, riding for a goal of $50,000 for charitable causes—and you're invited to help make an impact.

The Ride

From June 8–12, Ryan and School Specialty board member Rich Caruso will ride from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington D.C. along the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Towpath. While this long ride started as a personal challenge, Ryan quickly saw its potential to grow into something much larger. It's why he, School Specialty, and its Board have collectively committed over $20,000 to this fundraiser with a goal of raising over $50,000. We’re grateful for your support and donations to these worthwhile causes.

The Charities

All donations will be divided between three charities that support education. The two that have already been chosen by School Specialty are detailed below and the third will be selected based on suggestions from people like you. You will be invited to nominate your favorite education charity when you begin the donation process.

Gigi's Playhouse
Our first selected charity is Gigi’s Playhouse. GiGi’s Playhouse is the ONLY network of Down Syndrome Achievement Centers. Every day, they provide FREE, life-changing therapeutic, educational, and career training programs for 30,000+ individuals of all ages.

Down syndrome is the largest chromosomal disability in our country and yet, it is the least funded. From a prenatal diagnosis to career skills, Gigi's Playhouse makes a lifetime commitment to remain by their side. Families are empowered with all the tools their child needs to succeed!

You donation to Gigi's Playhouse helps them serve their mission - to change the way the world views Down Syndrome and send a global message of acceptance for all.

Positive Coaching Alliance
Positive Coaching Alliance is a non-profit that believes sports done right changes lives. Unfortunately, youth sports in America today are often not done right. Many kids do not have a coach that is trained, many schools and sports programs don’t promote a positive youth sports culture among their coaches, parents, administrators, and student athletes, and the playing field is not level - youth living in low-income communities are only half as likely to participate in sports.

That is why PCA is making sports positive & accessible to all young people by training, recruiting, and supporting coaches with tools and resources to teach life skills, increasing access to youth sports by forging alliances with under-resourced communities, and partnering with school districts, youth sports organizations, and community-based organizations.

With your help, we can change the culture of youth sports so that every child, regardless of social or economic circumstances, has access to a positive youth sport experience, and a coach who inspires them to become the best version of themselves in the game and in life.

The Sponsor: School Specialty

School Specialty is committed to transforming more than classrooms. We believe that when you give kids the right resources, they’ll soar, and when kids feel safe and secure, they don’t just feel better…they do better. That's why School Specialty proudly supplies more teacher-approved products to America's educators than any other source, and why we're proud to sponsor BikED for EDucation.

The School Specialty Bike Ride for Education Charity Selection Guidelines

There are two ways you can nominate a charity: 1. Between 6/3/2024 and 6/13/2024, comment on the pinned official BikED for EDucation post on School Specialty’s Facebook page (@schoolspecialty) and tag the handle of the preferred charity (@charityname) and then follow School Specialty on Facebook or Instagram. 2. Donate to sponsor BikeED for EDucation fundraiser and share the name of the proposed third charity in the designated location.

Nominations will be reviewed on June 13th, and the third charity will be selected by School Specialty from the eligible charity’s proposed by you. To be eligible to be selected, a charity must be a licensed 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization that is primarily focused on supporting education, and must agree to participate in the fundraiser.

BikED for EDucation

Bike Ride to Support Education