“To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care.” – Mandy Hale
Life Leadership‘s purpose is to set people free on three different levels: debt freedom through the Financial Fitness products and services, financial freedom through the sales compensation plan and functional freedom through the Life on Life Initiative. When CEO Chris Brady launched the Life on Life Initiative in June of 2015, he started something that was truly revolutionary in business; it is rare for a direct-selling company to create a program that serves the helpless and forgotten as part of their purpose – but that’s exactly what the Life on Life Initiative is doing.
In a world where negative news stories constantly steal the spotlight, Life Leadership is proud to reverse this trend and reveal to the public the beauty of humanity through service – with no strings attached. What’s even more fun is hearing the unique Life on Life ideas coming from Life Leadership Members all across North America.
On November 7th, 2015 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Life Leadership Members participated in a Life on Life event to support Mr. Gordy’s Read to Ride Program. The program is run by “Mr. Gordy” and his wife, Joyce, who have partnered with local inner city Grand Rapids schools to create an incentive program that allows children to earn a free bicycle by reading 15 books and writing a report on each book.
Mr. Gordy initially started the program because he believed, “Every kid should have a bike.” But the more he mulled it, the more he realized something was missing from the formula. It finally dawned on him, “kids need to learn how to read more than they need a bike.” That’s when he came up with the Read to Ride Program idea. (Click here to read more of Mr. Gordy’s story)
A week before the event, Mr. Gordy was expecting 8-10 volunteers to come and help out. However, by Sunday afternoon of the event, 24 Life Leadership volunteers showed up to serve.
“We took the used bikes that Mr. Gordy gives away to the kids and we made them look new again. We were buffing off rust, cleaning off dirt, washing them down and shining them up.” – Russ Climie (Life Member)
“This Life on Life event was a great success and very eye-opening to myself and the other volunteers. It was incredible to be a part of something that can make such a difference in the lives of young students. I believe that reading these books will open their minds to limitless possibilities in life. Many of the students impacted by the Read to Ride program would not have had the desire to set a goal, read and earn a bike as a reward. It was also incredible to see what a group of volunteers can do in a short amount of time to positively impact so many people. I know that there are many of opportunities to serve but the first and most important step is being a part of a group that is willing to gather together and take action. Thanks for the amazing experience, I’m looking forward to many more Life on Life events.” – Shaun Waid (Life Member)
“This Life on Life Initiative was a great opportunity for us to teach our children the importance of service to others.” – Frank Pfaff (Life Member)
In a normal day, Mr. Gordy and his wife are able to clean one bike with the time they have available. These Life Leadership volunteers managed to clean over 50 bikes in two hours! That means they helped to get almost two months worth of cleaning done in one short afternoon. Wow!! Thank you to all of the Life Members on Team Velocity who participated in this Life on Life Initiative from Grand Rapids, Michigan!
Peggi Kern says
What a great way to partner with this cause and touch kids lives!
Brandon Perry says
Man I really loved this blog. Hats off to Mr Gordy and his wife finding a great way to reward a bike by reading verses just giving them away. And hats off to team velocity for helping in a huge way to get those bikes clean and ready.
Deanna Suggitt says
What a great idea to combine reading with riding!!! Great incentive!! Love being a part of this organization. Great job everyone.
Frank says
It was such a blessing to help out Mr Gordy. True freedom comes through serving others.
Lynn Mossner says
What a great event! Great job Team Velocity!
Janice Mawdsley says
Wow what an inspiring plan for kids to receive a bike. Reading 15 books is a great incentive but many kids struggling to learn likely won’t be able to write any book reports. Could there be an alternative option to share out loud to a school helper or volunteer what they liked most in the book and then that volunteer could sign a paper stating that yes the child had read through the book.
Learning to read can be such an obstacle for so many youngsters and it would be nice if the bikes were also available to those who can’t yet read! Many public libraries have great reading programs during the summer and have extra volunteers to listen to kids read or draw a picture after someone else reads a book or chapter to them.
Thanks for blessing so many kids with the bikes and for inspiring them to learn to read at the same time! Maybe more communities will try to adopt a similar outreach!!
I sure hope such an initiative is started where I live too!
Janice
Robby Palmer says
Wow! Life leadership is amazing!
Joyce says
Awesome! What can get done when we put a bunch of hands together.