About the Habitat 500
Now in its 20th year, the Habitat 500 is a bicycle ride (not a race) and fundraiser that covers 500 miles over the course of 7 days (an average of 71 miles per day). Each rider raises funds from family, friends, businesses, and church groups and designates the Habitat for Humanity affiliates they wish to support (both locally and around the world).
We limit participation to 135 riders. Each rider is required to raise a minimum of $900, but the average amount raised is over $2,400 per rider.
Each year is a new route; we tour around the midwest (mostly Minnesota) visiting Habitat affiliates, Habitat worksites and Habitat homeowners along the way (in addition to roadside attractions). Habitat affiliates serve as our local hosts for overnight stays.
A key component of the ride is to raise awareness about the need for decent, safe, affordable housing. In this regard, we are in contact with all forms of media to generate coverage and we find the ride is a very attractive story for newspapers, radio, tv, cable, etc. -- we bring a lot of excitement wherever we go.
The first Habitat 500, coordinated by Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, took place in 1993 and traveled to Winnipeg for the Jimmy Carter Work Project. Since then, the ride has toured around the midwest, though mostly Minnesota, visiting Habitat affiliates, Habitat worksites and Habitat homeowners along the way (in addition to roadside attractions).
In 2000, Twin Cities Habitat asked HFH-MN to take over the coordination of the ride due to the fact that it was a fundraiser for affiliates around the state of Minnesota, not just Twin Cities Habitat.
HFH-MN took over the coordination of the ride in 2002. Funds raised in the years since then have consistently grown to a high of $340,000. In 2011, there were 21 Minnesota affiliates participating in the Habitat 500 receiving an average of $7,684 each.
History of the Habitat 500
