El Tour De Tucson welcomed over 7 thousand riders in this year’s annual bike ride that raises money for many different charitable organizations.

One group that came down to participate was the Bahati foundation, which is based out of Los Angeles Calif. Rahsaan Bahati, who is the chairman of the foundation, and a championship cyclist founded the program back in 2010.

The foundation works with inner city youth in the LA area through cycling programs and events. If youth are not interested in cycling, the Bahati foundation still works with them so that the youth can make an impact on society.

In 2011 Rahsaan Bahati was honored at the 29th El Tour de race, which kept their family coming back to participate.

According to Rahsaan father Rashid Bahati there is one more person who plays a role in influencing them to keep participating.

“We really support this event also because Richard DeBernardis the founder of this event, he serves on our board in Los Angeles so he’s one of the board members for the Bahati foundation,” said Rashid Bahati.

The Bahati foundation has participated in El Tour de Tucson and says that these types of events help everyone come together to support a greater cause.

Rahsaan said, “Its awesome because it creates a platform for other charities to raise money. So all you have to do is get your team around you to raise money for a lot of different charities, which the Bahati foundation is one, and we could definitely use the help.”

Alexyz Liggins is a reporter for Arizona Sonora News Service, a service from the School of Journalism at the University of Arizona. Reach her at [email protected]