As one example, Focus on the Family’s former National Bike Ride for the Family served as a perfect vehicle for families to work together, help others and take a stand for moral values in their community. Here is one family’s story.

A Family Adventure Becomes a Scrapbook of Memories

Serving one another is critical for the Richardson family of Kemah, Texas — and it’s not just because they are a family of eight.

Sure, they’re busy. Kim, their dad, works full-time while his wife, Nicola, home schools all six children. In the Richardson family, each member has various household responsibilities, delegated according to age.

• Maureen, age 16, does laundry
• Dorothy, age 14, cooks the meals
• Hannah, age 11, is the party planner and bath time scheduler
• Martha, age 10, oversees the chore list and prayers
• Stephen, age 8, does his best with the general maintenance around the house.
• Rebecca, age 4, empties trash cans and cleans the kitchen stools. She also makes her bed and keeps her things picked up.

Kim read about Focus on the Family’s National Bike Ride for the Family back in September 2000. The excitement surrounding this extensive promotional, fundraising and ministry opportunity prompted Kim to register for the South Texas ride. He wasted no time in training.

Kim conquered the 200-mile ride, but not alone. His wife, with their six children, followed Kim from start to finish.

“When we spotted Papa, we would stop ahead and get out of the car and pull out our homemade posters to root him on,” Nicola said. “Sometimes he would stop and give kisses and refill his water bottle and then move on.”

Kim and the whole family found a way to participate in this family event. With help from riders like Kim, over $2 million was raised for Focus on the Family.

So when rumor hit that another National Bike Ride for the Family was taking shape, the Richardson family, without hesitation, was on board for round two.

One evening in November 2002, family members were taking turns sharing their Christmas wish lists. The children had eagerly told what they wanted. Then it was Dad’s turn. He began listing his less expensive ideas, such as a gift certificate to Wal-Mart for one of his favorite treats, Diet Dr. Pepper^®.

Then his daughter Maureen had a thought. “I know what he wants,” she said. “He wants us to raise the money for the Bike Ride.”

Kim agreed it would be a great gift but didn’t know how it could happen. That night, the children began secretly developing ideas for how they could raise $1,500 by Christmas.

Soon they agreed to write a letter to people who had donated to Kim’s previous ride, and they added a few new friends to the list. The two eldest daughters wrote the letter describing the fun they’d had on last year’s ride and the financial goal for this year’s ride. The other kids helped by signing the letters, and all folded, stuffed and stamped them.

The kids agreed to keep this a secret until Christmas. While mom oversaw the project, she also intercepted all the letters that came back with donations. By Christmas Eve, the children had raised $2,000, which was $500 more than their initial goal.

To add a personal touch to Dad’s gift, the kids, with Mom’s help, put together a keepsake. All children participated in creating a scrapbook of pictures from the first ride as well as notes from those who had contributed financially.

“It would have been so easy to put the checks in an envelope and say, ‘Here you go,’ ” Kim said. “Instead, they created something I’ll cherish for years to come.”

Kim was there for the Texas ride in March 2003, and his family was right there with him.