College student Patrick Cook-Deegan will be in Portland tomorrow night to speak about his “Cycle for Schools” bike ride he completed last summer in SE Asia.
He rode 2,800 miles across Laos, Cambodia and Burma and raised $22,500 under for the international literacy non-profit group, Room to Read, which used the money to build a school and a library in a small Laos village.
Cook-Deegan is currently taking this year off from school to speak throughout the country about the trip.
Inspired by his travels, he also started a program called Transform Abroad that funds low income American high school students to travel abroad for a summer to volunteer in a developing country.
“I know Portland is a city of adventure seekers and the globally minded. That’s why I decided to come here to share my story.”
Cook-Deegan hopes to raise money for his programs at the event. The presentation will be at the Jupiter Hotel (800 E. Burnside) in Portland at 7:30 pm tomorrow (Thurs. March 8th).