Trish Karter was looking for an interesting way to mark the 15th anniversary of the company that she founded, the Boston-based Dancing Deer Bakery.
And, the company CEO wanted to draw attention — and donations — to the company’s partnership with the Boston-based non-profit organization One Family Inc. With One Family, the company funds college scholarships for homeless mothers as a pathway to self-sufficiency.
An avid bicyclist, Karter knew she could reasonably ride about 100 miles per day.
That was how she decided to do a 15-day, 1,500-mile bike ride with evening stops at homeless shelters.
Today, Karter, 52, will ride into Lancaster. At 6:30 p.m., she will host a gingerbread house decorating party for families living in the Tabor Community Services’ Transitional Living Center, 105 E. King St.
“It totally rejuvenating for me. It is a very positive experience,” Karter said of the hand-on activity, usually undertaken with single mothers and children.
“I don’t know what to call it but person-to-person philanthropy,” she said.
Karter, speaking while riding her bike through Virginia on Wednesday, has been doing ginger bread philanthropy for several years at Boston’s 25 homeless shelters. And Dancing Deer has helped 78 women and children lift themselves out of poverty through education.
Karter calls that the company’s “double bottom line.” Dancing Deer established a separate product line, Sweet Home, specifically for the homeless scholarship program. So far, Sweet Home has contributed more than $200,000 by directing 35 percent of its sales to the scholarship program.
“We don’t make any money on Sweet Home, but we make friends,” she said. Customer, vendor and employee loyalty is enhanced through the philanthropic endeavor, she believes.
Dancing Deer does about $10 million in annual sales, mostly through sales at gourmet and natural food stores nationwide.
While Karter’s trek is all about giving to others, she acknowledged a personal motive for coming through Lancaster. While here, she will be seeing her daughter, who is a freshman at Franklin & Marshall College.
“This is the mother’s day ride after all,” said Karter, a single mother, who is visiting many single mothers and their children at the shelter stops. Her trek ends in Boston on Wednesday, four days before mother’s day.
Karter and others write about her ride on her blog, here.
