The number one GRID volunteer stopped by our office last week. Well, all of our GRID volunteers are number one in our minds, but Michael Johnson-Chase is a remarkable, determined GRID Alternatives volunteer.
For the past six months, Michael has been biking to each of the GRID regional offices, riding between 60 to 100 miles a day. He has been biking with the Climate Ride Independent Cycling Challenge to raise money for GRID. We were fortunate to host him in our Mid-Atlantic office last week, his 2nd to last stop before he completes his country-wide bike trip, a 6,000 mile trek.
His journey began on April 7th, when he flew from his home in New York to San Diego, where he volunteered on a solar installation with GRID. From there, he biked all around California, to the seven different regional offices, participating in multiple solar installations, and interacted with the local GRID staff and volunteers. From California, he biked to Denver, Colorado, where he met up with Bike and Build, an organization that encourages avid bikers to participate in service-oriented biking trips that benefit affordable housing.
From Denver, Michael biked across the United States to New York. Along the way he stayed with family, checked into motels, or spent his nights camping under the stars. After recovering from his across-the-country bike ride, he biked from New York down to our DC office, arriving safely on September 21st with a team of 200 Climate Riders on the national mall.
We were proud to host Michael in our office on the 22nd, where he volunteered with the Outreach Department, helping to canvass to identify more income-qualified clients. After volunteering, he sat down and shared his stories from the road with the DC office. He observed that even though each GRID regional office has its own “flavor” - he appreciated the consistency that he saw in all the staff. “Everyone is enthusiastic, focused, loves their jobs, has high work ethic, and knows that they are doing good work,” said Michael.
We applaud Michael’s dedication to raise awareness for what GRID Alternatives does. He has done a lot to support what we do; building resiliency for underserved communities, which is important as the climate continues to change. We wish Michael the best of luck on the last leg of his biking trip!