The Paper Fig 560

June 1-8, 2024

This coming spring, an epic ride from Niagara Falls to Manhattan will help equip women in East Africa with the skills they need to thrive.

The Paper Fig 560 is a 560-mile bike ride along the Empire State Trail with the mission of raising crucial funds and awareness for the Paper Fig Foundation. Through partnerships built over the years, Ron Voller’s mission is to raise money for a much-needed maternity center in Southwest Uganda.

Over the course of 8 days, Ron and his crew will ride from Niagara Falls to New York City. People and organizations can sponsor him for a mile or a hundred miles, and every dollar raised will support the Paper Fig Foundation.

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Unleashing Her Power

In the region where the Paper Fig Foundation works in Uganda, many young people, especially women and girls, are not able to complete their schooling because they can’t afford school fees. This leaves them vulnerable to such threats as child marriage, trafficking, and extreme poverty.
The Paper Fig Foundation offers free skill training courses so these at-risk individuals can learn tailoring skills, so they can make their own clothes and start their own businesses. PFF also started a health center to provide vaccines, treatment, and education around wellness.
But the community needs more: They need a healthy place for mothers to give birth. We are working with local and international organizations to raise funds to build a maternity center to serve the hundreds of mothers and potential mothers in the community of Kihara, Uganda to give birth safely.

Why Ride?

While cars, motorcycles, busses, and public transportation are common in larger cities throughout East African communities, the bicycle remains ubiquitous in more rural areas like Kasese, Uganda, where the Paper Fig is currently operating. A drive along the busy city streets by day reveals the many uses Ugandans have for their bicycles. A man riding a bike toting a human-sized bushel of plantains on a rack across the rear wheel is as common a sight there as a taxi is in New York City.
 In short, the bicycle is an important, maybe the most important means of transportation for Ugandans as they go about their business each day. The work is hard, the miles are long, and the pay is meager. Most people in this part of the world work all day for what amounts to a single dollar in US currency. For that reason, the arduous length of the 560-mile ride from the Battery in lower Manhattan to Niagara Falls seems a fitting challenge, and one I will gladly take on.
*Ron Voller*

Ron Voller

Ron has been a part of the Paper Fig Foundation since its inception helping to drive the organization forward, bringing his energy, enthusiasm, and unique range of life and work experience to bear on everything from fundraising and planning to mentorship and outreach. His primary role with the organization is as advisor to our board of directors. More recently he has chaired several fundraising committees raising funds to provide clean water to our local community in Uganda while developing other fundraising strategies. In fact, the Paper Fig 560 was his idea.

The Empire State Trail

In 2017, New York State launched the Empire State Trail to promote outdoor recreation, encourage healthy lifestyles, support community vitality, and bolster tourism-related economic development.
The 750-mile Empire State Trail showcases New York’s special places, diverse history, and iconic landscapes. Learn more here!

Ride with Ron.

The ride is 8 days long, from the majesty of Niagara Falls to the splendor of downtown Manhattan. We invite you to join Ron for one or more of them to help us raise funds for the Paper Fig Foundation’s yearly operations. Your contribution will help us continue to provide lifesaving medical care and skills training in fashion and the arts to thousands of people and young women, giving them the training they need to provide for themselves and their families. Ron could sure use the company!.

Ride with Ron