For Immediate Release:
Contact: Allyson Davis
Phone: 310.721.7704
Email: ally@rebeccarusch.com
World Champion Athlete, Rebecca Rusch, Keeps Legacy of her Father, Stephen Rusch, a Vietnam War Casualty, Alive With New Nonprofit
Committed to building vibrant, healthy communities through outdoor activities and events. Rebecca Rusch announces the Be Good™ Foundation at a memorable Blood Road film screening at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC on November 8th.
Since Rusch’s epic 2016 mountain bike journey down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to her father, Stephen Rusch’s Vietnam War fatal crash site, she has been dedicated to use his final words -”Be Good”- as a guiding compass to apply her athletic experience to foster vibrant communities worldwide. The Be Good™ Foundation keeps Stephen’s legacy alive while making the outdoors a bigger, better, and safer place.
“This 1200 mile ride was the most important expedition of my life,” says the seven-time world champion and endurance record holder of her expedition to find the site of her father’s crash. “Since riding the Ho Chi Minh Trail and standing in the place where my father died, I hear his instructions distinctly.
Establishing this nonprofit foundation allows me to use my bicycle not just for racing and expeditions, but as a vehicle for change,” Rusch continues. “I can’t think of a better place to make this announcement than in Washington DC, right before Veterans Day, with a host of special events, include a screening of Blood Road at the National Archives Museum.”
The Be Good™ Foundation will raise funds through outdoor exploration, events, and personal growth programs. These funds will support initiatives that foster opportunity, access, safety and infrastructure in the outdoors as well as the preservation of public lands. Look for funding to build trails and bike lanes in Rusch’s native Idaho, provide access to bikes worldwide, as well as unexploded bomb clearance in Lao.
The Be Good™ Foundation will house ongoing programs and develop new exploration offerings. Rusch’s current fundraising initiatives include:
Rebecca’s Private Idaho: Rusch’s signature charity cycling event with hundreds of cyclists in her Idaho hometown
MTBLAO: Be Good™ Foundation’s annual bike trip in partnership with Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to clear bombs still left from the Vietnam war
Blood Road film screenings: Rusch’s Emmy award-winning documentary of her 1200 mile mountain bike expedition on the Ho Chi Minh trail
Article 22 partnership: Be Good™ jewelry made by artisans in Lao from materials collected from recently cleared bombs
For more information on Be Good™ Foundation or to engage with Rebecca’s Be Good™ mission click here.
About Rebecca Rusch Rebecca Rusch is the Queen of Pain with a heart of gold. It doesn’t matter if Rebecca is pedaling through the night on an epic adventure across Italy, riding her bike up Africa’s legendary Mt. Kilimanjaro, or teaching at the Rusch Academy’s #JoinTheRusch camp or clinic...she brings energy, positivity, and inspiration to whatever challenge she meets. As a professional athlete for over three decades, the 7x World Champion has continually tested her own limits, shattering the glass ceiling in whatever sport she tackles. She redefined the team dynamics of adventure racing, has a first female ascent rock climbing El Capitan in Yosemite, river boarded down the Grand Canyon, and has given the men a run for their money in endurance mountain biking. Rebecca’s work extends far beyond the start line as the best-selling author of Rusch to Glory, event producer for Rebecca’s Private Idaho, motivational speaker, firefighter, and cycling advocate. Additionally, she has raised over $500,000 for charities through her adventures and events. Through Red Bull Media House in 2017, Rebecca released a full-length, Emmy award winning feature film, Blood Road, which followed her incredibly personal journey and a new milestone: She is the first person to ride the entire 1,200 mile Ho Chi Minh trail. Find out more at RebeccaRusch.com
About Be Good™ Foundation
Be Good™ Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to building vibrant, healthy communities and making the outdoors a better, safer and more protected place worldwide. Headquartered in Ketchum, Idaho, the Be Good™ Foundation is named for founder Rebecca Rusch’s father’s favorite sign off and all the simple guidance those two words imply. Funded by multiple programs, the Foundation’s initial work will focus on the removal of unexploded bomb ordnance in Lao as well as trail access and infrastructure in the USA. Visit the Be Good™ Foundation at RebeccaRusch.com/BeGood