[August 08, 2011] Burrito Bikers wrap eggs with caring Tweet Aug 08, 2011 (The Charlotte Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Little is stirring at 7:30 a.m. Sunday as Tommy Holderness and 10 friends saddle up on bicycles and pedal out of the Eastover neighborhood. They cross into the Elizabeth neighborhood and turn west on Seventh Street for what will be a 10-mile ride. It's not just any ride. Their route will take them uptown, where on any given Sunday, they hand out 50 to 70 steaming breakfast burritos and bottles of water or fruit drinks to people living on Charlotte's streets. It's been this way every Sunday for 3 1/2 years, a small but noble gesture in the fight against homelessness. They call themselves The Burrito Bikers. They've missed only two Sundays, but Holderness is realistic about The Bikers' impact. "All the volunteers do a fine thing. But, at best, we're just a small Band-Aid," said Holderness, 47, a Charlotte lawyer and seminary student who started the group with neighbor and friend, banker John Oxrider, in October 2007. "There are a lot of people who need help. But I wanted to do something hands-on, and this seemed like a place I could do it." Helping people face-to-face Yet, each Sunday, there they are, chipping away at the problem, showing the less fortunate that there are people who care. "The reaction we get from the people is a great way to start a Sunday morning," Holderness said. And the volunteers -- The Bikers and the cooks -- get a deeper understanding. "Writing a check (to charity) is good, but it is so much more impactful to see and meet people face-to-face," Oxrider said. "It may not solve the problem. But making connections is important." The Bikers are not an original idea. One day in 2007, Holderness, an avid cyclist, read a story in a cycling magazine about other groups doing the same thing. "I thought, 'I can do that,' " he said. He told Oxrider about the idea and, in October that year, The Burrito Project was born. They started small. Saturday nights, Holderness and Oxrider took turns rolling up 25 burritos -- the filling often a mixture of eggs, sausage, potatoes, mushrooms, peppers and onions. Sunday mornings, they'd reheat and pack them in insulated backpacks and head uptown to find anyone needing a meal. Holderness is still moved by what one man told him: "He was used to getting a sausage biscuit. He bit into a burrito and said, 'You know, there's a big difference that comes with something that comes out of a plastic wrapper, and something that's made with love.' "For me, that said it all." 50 families cook or ride They continue to find the homeless at First United Methodist Church on North Tryon Street, under an overpass at Interstate 277 and outside a gate at the Urban Ministry Center at the end of North College Street. Now 50 families are involved, either riding or cooking. Two Sunday schools at Myers Park Methodist cook twice a month, individuals takes turns the other two weeks. The cooks buy the ingredients. Kelly Vecchio, a paralegal at Holderness's law firm, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, cooks regularly with husband Rob. "It's an amazing thing to know that at least on Sundays, someone's getting fed a good meal," Vecchio said. "The message here: There are people who care about them, that they're not forgotten and that we're doing our best to feed them and show them some love." Most Sundays, four or five Bikers ride. Often, the Bikers bring their children. Sunday's 10 Bikers stopped first at First United Methodist, where a flurry of burritos was passed around. "God bless you," said John Watkins as he took a burrito. "These people are a blessing." Charlotte lawyer Kate Payerle rides most weeks, frequently with husband Dan, and says she gets more out of the experience than she gives. "I'm grateful to have met some amazing people down here," Payerle said. "I learn about their world. Besides, it's a great workout." Finding other ways to help Along with the burritos, The Bikers have set up clinics to repair bicycles, the transportation of choice for the homeless. They've handed out helmets. And they've helped with legal and accounting matters. Holderness helped a homeless man get his monthly Social Security checks restored. Others have filed tax returns at a clinic at the Urban Ministry. "A lot of those guys work and didn't know how to file returns," Holderness said. "That never would have occurred to us if we hadn't gone down there every week." But mostly, they've provided a meal that many on the street have come to expect and appreciate. Two Sundays ago, Holderness and 10-year-old daughter, Emily, a fifth-grader at Eastover Elementary, shared a tandem bike and rode with TV/video producer Andy Weibley to deliver 70 burritos uptown. Mark Gladden was waiting in a wheelchair. "These people are good as gold," said Gladden, who's known The Bikers for three years. "They show up on time. Rain or shine, doesn't matter. You can feel the love." To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotteobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]