Sam Gloyd, a van driver for Family Promise Metrowest and resident of Natick, began a cross-country cycling trip on June 11, to learn more about challenges facing our country and to bring awareness to the issue of family homelessness. He started in Massachusetts and will be ending somewhere along the West Coast—wherever the road leads him!

Sam has been an avid cyclist since he made his first cross-country ride with a group of young men after college. On this trip, Sam will travel solo, camping out along the way. He plans to visit several of the 200+ Family Promise affiliates operating across the United States to learn about the families they serve and the various challenges faced in different regions of the country.

“This trip is really something of a quest for me,” Sam said. “In part, I’m hoping to reconnect with family in Indiana and will be visiting with a retired minister in Michigan, who played a particularly inspirational role in my life.” But beyond reconnecting with family and friends, Sam is looking to meet and engage with people he doesn’t know, both through daily interactions along his route and through the connections he makes as he visits other affiliates in the Family Promise network. 

“There are so many things tearing our country apart right now,” Sam said. “I see this trip as a great opportunity to meet people, engage in conversations around what separates us as humans, contemplate what role I might be playing in that, and to report on what I discover.”

Family Promise Metrowest is currently seeking support for Sam’s ride. Funds raised will further the Family Promise mission of transforming the lives of families with children facing homelessness. Please visit www.familypromisemetrowest.org to learn more about Family Promise Metrowest and contact Carole Brodrick at [email protected] to discuss sponsorship opportunities.

With 50 local congregations, 3000 volunteers, and support from the community, Family Promise Metrowest is making a difference in addressing the issue of family homelessness. By providing resources and encouragement and addressing barriers, families bring themselves out of homelessness and into a life where they can sustain themselves and their children. For more information, visit www.familypromisemetrowest.org.