Welcome curious community member, and thank you for visiting Team Alma’s page!
This July, Team Alma will once again travel over 472 miles and climb over 14,735 feet as we ride across the state of Iowa… ON OUR BICYCLES! Why do we take on this wild challenge you might ask? We do it because we fiercely believe in the power of the Alma Center and its mission to end domestic violence, re-build the relationships between men and their families and communities, and drastically decrease the likelihood men will return to prison.
While supporting the Alma Center is our primary goal, when we ride, something else magically occurs. As we work through the long days, the aching muscles, and the trials and tribulations, a transformation begins to take place, and a community begins to form. A community that understands a degree of common suffering. A community that laughs and cries together. A community that learns of one another's humanity. A community that resembles the community of men that we are building at the Alma Center every day.
Support our ride and you support the vital work taking place at the Alma Center.
To learn more about when, why, and HOW, please read below...
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Team Alma is riding again for the 6th year to raise money for a cause we all believe in – the Alma Center. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Alma Center works to heal, transform and evolve the unresolved pain of trauma that fuels the continuation of cycles of violence, abuse and dysfunction in families and community. We work primarily with men at-risk or involved in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on men who have a history of domestic violence.
Through its healing-focused care approach, the Alma Center is able to help return spiritually well men to their communities to make amends for past wrongs and strengthen and restore families in ways that help all family members heal and thrive.
This work is about more than men, it’s about more than ending violence. This work is about healing pain and trauma established over days, years, and generations.
That’s why Team Alma will ride across Iowa again this year -- to help break the cycle of violence and support the Alma Center’s work. Every team member dedicates their time and energy (and pain and exhaustion – and ultimately exhilaration) because we fiercely believe in why the Alma Center exists – to end domestic violence, reduce the impact of DV on children exposed to it, decrease the likelihood that men will return to prison, and promote health, responsible and self-sufficient relationships and families.
An additional goal of Team Alma’s is to build community. We do so by learning and connecting throughout the ride, where individuals from different walks of life have the opportunity to witness the common and unique humanity of one another.
Up to 35 individuals will be riding with Team Alma this year, including a variety of law enforcement and nonprofit agency professionals, as well as previously incarcerated men who have worked with or are currently working with the Alma Center. Our team’s extraordinary diversity is the foundation of a powerful shared commitment ending cycles of violence in families and in communities throughout the Milwaukee area. Having individuals invested in such different work, from such different backgrounds, all committed to the same cause, is truly transformative.
This July, Team Alma will be biking a southern route through Iowa, covering 400+ miles in a total of seven days. Our adventure will span seven nights of camping in seven Iowa cities, successfully experiencing much outside each of our comfort zones. Our riders represent different aspects of Milwaukee communities and are each stakeholders in this healing-focused work. We all bike, play, sweat, camp, laugh and eat pie together, and we’ll make sure to share the joy and challenges through social media so you can understand and support our journey that much better. For those interested in this important work but who can’t make the physical trip, consider supporting one of our riders for 10, 20 or 50 cents for each mile they ride. With each and every donation, the Alma Center’s trauma-informed care becomes more accessible to more people, making the reality of healing real for a growing number men throughout Milwaukee.
We ask you to support your favorite riders or donate to the Alma Center overall. All donations are tax-deductible and will help us heal more men, and in doing so improve the lives of women, children and communities.
Support Team Alma and you support the healing work done at the Alma Center.
From all of us here at the Alma Center, we thank you with the utmost of gratitude.
Thank you!
Visit almacenter.org to learn more about our healing-focused care approach.