BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Kirsten Pufahl has brought new meaning to taking the road less traveled by. After graduation in May 2010, Pufahl packed her duffle bag and headed out west to the sunny shores of Palo Alto, Ca. There, on June 14, she began a 67-day, 4,000-mile biking journey across the United States as part of the FACE AIDS Ride Against AIDS 2010 campaign.
This is the third year of the FACE AIDS campaign, a not-for-profit student organization whose mission is to mobilize and inspire students to fight AIDS in Africa. The organization, which works in collaboration with Partner’s in Health, has raised over $1,700,000 since it’s inception to support the fight against AIDS in Zambia and Rwanda.
Pufahl, who graduated from IWU with a degree in anthropology, hit the trails with six other riders from Stanford University and the University of Wyoming. The team has made stops along the way for speaking engagements to spread awareness about the impacts of AIDS and the FACE AIDS mission. Each rider will attempt to raise $5,000 by the time they complete their journey on Aug. 19 in Boston, Ma.