The University of Michigan College of Letters, Sciences and Arts announced that alumnus Marilyn Price, class of 1962, is the recipient of the LSA Humanitarian Service Award because of her work with Trips for Kids.
The Humanitarian Service Award is the college's most prestigious alumni honor. It is given annually to three or four alumni to recognize noble character and citizenship and to celebrate services to humanity that promote greater understanding. Past honorees have made great strides in areas of health care, human rights, women's issues, cancer patient and family support and safe water.
Peggy Burns, LSA assistant dean for advancement, presented the award at the Class of 1962 LSA Alumni Reunion luncheon in Ann Arbor, Mich., on October 12, 2012. Burns praised Price for her courage, compassion and drive in her quest to help at-risk youths discover the beauty of nature and learn practical skills.
“In honoring Marilyn Price we recognize her character, service and leadership,” said Burns. “Marilyn is positive and driven, compassionate and creative. She refused to accept the status quo and put what's right before what is easy, accepted or popular.”
Price was inspired to create Trips for Kids in 1986 as she was pedaling up Mount Tamalpais, gazing at San Francisco. A frequent volunteer at St. Anthony's Dining Room in the heart of the inner city, she thought how wonderful it would be if kids from the soup kitchen could join her on her rides. Most had never seen the city from that perspective and spent their days surrounded by cement, drugs, violence and gangs.
Two years later, Marilyn Price started Trips for Kids in 1988 from her Mill Valley, California home.
Twenty-five years later, Trips for Kids International now has 74 chapters in the U.S., five in Canada and one in Israel. In addition to mountain-bike rides, the Trips for Kids Marin chapter also runs an after-school Earn-a-Bike/Job-Training Program and the very successful Re-Cyclery Bicycle Thrift Shop.
Re-Cyclery sells donated new and re-conditioned bikes, parts, accessories and clothing to generate funds for the administration of the programs. Trips for Kids has enriched the lives of more that 100,000 kids since its inception, and now serves more than 16,000 kids each year. The Humanitarian Service Award is a well-deserved honor for Marilyn Price and her outstanding program.
