Cyclists share hope with Tesh in Coeur d'Alene

COEUR d’ALENE — When John Serafim hopped off his bike and walked into Tesh headquarters Wednesday, he saw the sign: Welcome to Tesh!” And on that poster was the name John. 

“I thought maybe the poster was for me,” Serafim said. 

He was right and wrong. 

The poster was indeed for Serafim and his fellow riders on The Journey of Hope cycling across the country. 

But John was for John O’Connell, a Tesh client. 

The two hit it off when they met, shared stories and struck poses for pictures. 

“He’s a great guy,” Serafim said of O’Connell. 

Tesh, which opened its doors in 1976, has served more than 20,000 children and adults. It is "dedicated to providing child development, independent living and employment choices and training to people of all ages with disabilities seeking greater independence, self-sufficiency and participation in our community."

About 25 cyclists with The Ability Experience, a philanthropic arm of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, stopped at Tesh during their cross-country trek that started June 4 in Seattle and is scheduled to end Aug. 10 in Washington, D.C. They’ll cover about 4,000 miles in 67 days. 

The Ability Experience aims to educate the men of Pi Kappa Phi and the public on the "abilities of people with disabilities and the importance of putting a person before their disability."

The event raises funds and awareness for people with disabilities. 

At Tesh, the cyclists played games and danced with Tesh clients, and learned who they are, what they do and what they hope to do.

“It exposes the disability community to individuals who wouldn’t know anything about them otherwise,” Tesh CEO Marcee Hartzell said. 

Hartzell said Tesh participants planned the gathering as part of their classes.  

In Tools for Success they worked on the schedule for the afternoon, created a list of items needed and set an agenda for the presentation timeframe.  

In Ready, Set, Cook they planned the meal, gathered recipes and went grocery shopping.  

And in Current Events, participants followed the JOH TransAm team on social media and learned about each destination and trip details.  

On Wednesday, things went even better than planned as guests and locals came to know one another a little bit better. 

“They are loving it, so much fun,” Hartzell said. 

Aaron Barnabas, project manager with The Ability Experience, said they found Tesh and its clients amazing and said they would like to return. 

“Hopefully, we can start a new tradition going forward,” he said. 

The group presented Hartzell with a Journey of Hope shirt, which drew a big smile from her and cheers from everyone who had gathered for a final photo 

“You're always welcome back,” Hartzell said. 

Serafim said the experience of biking and meeting people has been beautiful.

“At the end of every day you can get to relax and look back,” he said. “Pretty amazing.”