Thank you for visiting my fundraising page for Bethany Christian Services of Georgia! Founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1944, Bethany has been providing quality social services to children and families here in Georgia since the mid-1980s. On November 15th, our friends at Bicycles Unlimited in Peachtree City are hosting Bike for Bethany - a benefit cycling ride in Jackson, Georgia, for Bethany, with the proceeds going to benefit children and families across Georgia through our foster care, adoption, counseling and abuse/neglect prevention services.

Please consider partnering with us and donating to help make Bike for Bethany a success:

• Donate - Donating through this website is simple, fast and completely secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts. Your donations are tax-deductible and provide dividends that last a lifetime for a child in need of a home. If you would prefer to donate by check, please make it out to Bethany Christian Services of Georgia and send it to the attention of "Bike for Bethany" at 6645 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30328. We will mail a receipt back to you for tax purposes.
• Ride - Go to www.active.com and type Bike for Bethany into the search bar at the top of the main page. There you will find all the details on the ride - directions, registration fee, date, time and even a map. You can also go to http://bicyclesunl.com and click on "Rides and Events" on the left-hand side of the main page to be directed to a link to the registration form.
• Buy a t-shirt- You can purchase a t-shirt for $15 by adding that amount to your donation through this page and mention in the comments section of your donation the size t-shirt that you would like and the best way for us to get it to you!
• Volunteer - We need around 15 volunteers on November 15th to help with things like manning the rest stations for riders with water bottles, energy bars, etc; staffing the registration table; handing out t-shirts; and coordinating parking. If you would like to volunteer, please call Bicycles Unlimited at 770.486.9252 and sign up with Holly Anderson.

Through your donation, you can truly change a life by giving hope to a child longing for "mom and dad" here in the United States or overseas, a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy alone, a couple struggling with the pain of infertility, or an adoptive family seeking counseling to meet the needs of a child dealing with the aftermath of early abuse or neglect. Bethany also provides intensive counseling services for issues related to abuse, neglect or trauma; short-term respite care for families in crisis; healthy marriage counseling for unwed expectant parents; and ongoing post-adoption support for both birth and adoptive families.

More information on Bethany and our services to children and families is available at www.bethany.org/atlanta. We have an exciting new program called Safe Families that gives volunteer families the opportunity to open their homes and provide hospitality to a child whose parents are working through a time of unexpected crisis (job loss, housing loss, post-partum depression, unplanned pregnancy). If you are interested in becoming a Safe Family, you can learn more at www.safe-families.org. 

The video on the left paints a picture of why I feel so blessed to be involved in adoption. As songwriter, Mark Schultz, shares in his story, when someone chooses adoption, more than just one life is changed forever. Thank you so much for your support -- and please forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Katie (Gresham) Smith