Family Promise of Carbon County will hold a bike trail ride at 9 a.m. on Sept. 22 to raise funds for the homeless shelter program.

The community bike event will begin near the Lehighton Trailhead of the D&L Trail.

Bicycles will be available for rent on-site from Lehighton Outdoor Center.

The out-and-back route enables cyclists of all abilities to pick their own distance.

Following a pre-ride stretch, cyclists will bike north along the D&L to view the new pedestrian bridge in Jim Thorpe, with a suggested turnaround point of Glen Onoko. The ride will conclude with a riverside lunch served at the Pocono Whitewater picnic grove along Lehigh Drive in Lehighton.

Registration is $35 per adult and $15 per child and can be done online at give.classy.org/CycleOutHomelessness.

An event T-shirt will be given to all riders who go on to raise enough to at least match their registration fee.

“The goal of the community bike event is to raise $10,000,” said event organizer Tina Dowd. “We need every community member to share the Family Promise story with their friends to help meet the fundraising goal. The money we raise will make a direct and positive impact on the homeless children enrolled in our program.”

Funds raised for the community bike ride will help fill budget shortfalls related to severe reductions in government funding.

The shelter program was informed earlier this year that emergency solutions grant funding was slashed from the budget, as shelter services were considered a non-priority.

A second budget blow was delivered recently when the county declined to fund the shelter using discretionary Community Development Block Grant Funds.

“We can’t count on government funding until the homeless population is sleeping on park benches in Jim Thorpe. We have no choice but to raise the money privately to solve this problem,” Dowd said.

Family Promise of Carbon County provides a safe shelter for homeless families, offering an alternative to sleeping in cars in local parking lots.

The program’s budget is modest and provides a high return on investment.

Family Promise organizes volunteers to prepare and serve meals and coordinates sleeping locations each week in area churches.