Jeff Bekos on the road to fulfill his mission.
Doylestown dad bikes across the country to support Ronald McDonald Houses
by Maryanna Savage Phinn
Jeff Bekos of Doylestown had one mission – to bike from California to Pennsylvania to raise money for and increase awareness of Ronald McDonald House charities throughout the United States. He accomplished the mission on October 14 as he triumphantly crossed the finish line at the Ronald McDonald House in West Philadelphia.
Throughout the trip, called “One Dad’s Mission,” he made 26 stops at chapters in major cities, raising more than $700,000.
As an experienced cyclist for 30 years and an active member of the Bucks County cycling community, Jeff biked for 75 days and for more than 4,000 miles from the initial starting line on July 29 at Ronald McDonald House in Orange County, California. Jeff’s wife Liz, also made the long trek driving behind her husband in a camper as he cycled through triple digit temperatures in Utah and Nevada and pushed through 30-mile an hour headwinds and crop dust in Kansas.
“Every pedal stroke was for the families with a sick child,” Jeff noted.
The inspiration for One Dad’s Mission is the couple’s daughter, Hailey, who was diagnosed 11 years ago with a rare autoimmune disorder called Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a debilitating neurologic disease. Before its sudden onset in 2013, Hailey was a healthy student attending Lenape Middle School.
Hailey was in a coma for four months at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and spent more than eight months at CHOP. Her heart stopped numerous times during this traumatic period.
“It was a horrific time in our lives,” Jeff recalls. “But the Doylestown community, the schools, everyone really rallied around us because it was horrible what was going on with Hailey. Everyone loved her.”
The Bekos and their son, Brenden, spent countless hours at Hailey’s bedside at CHOP. “The doctors and social worker knew we were going to be there for a long, long time. We were in the hospital for 12 to 16 hours a day for months. They knew that the way we were living wasn’t sustainable. But, through the grace of God we were able to get into room 37 at the Philadelphia house and we called that room our home for 254 days.”
The Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, established in 1974, is the first in the world and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The houses are located near pediatric hospitals to provide temporary housing to families in a homelike setting and additional support through its staff and volunteers.
“A lot of people we spoke to after we left the Ronald McDonald House didn’t have a clear understanding of what it does for families,” Jeff said. “So, we wanted to do something special for the 50th anniversary. Many think McDonald’s pays for everything, but they don’t. They are great partners and the local franchisees contribute about five or six percent of the house’s operating funds, but it is all really community-driven that keeps the houses running.”
Throughout the cross-country journey, Jeff said they were amazed at how many people they met that had been touched by the organization.
“Our lives were completely turned upside down and to know this house is there for you, it took away all of those pressures. Like, where do you sleep at night? How do you re-energize? How do you eat and still be minutes away from CHOP? It’s lifesaving and it took away all of that stress.”
Today, Hailey is fully recovered. She graduated in 2018 from Central Bucks High School West. She earned a college degree from Temple University and works for a company doing digital marketing for nonprofit organizations.
Jeff said the main thing he asks of people is to learn more about Ronald McDonald Houses. “The houses are run by a huge amount of volunteers. Come down and volunteer. Come see what the charity does for people. Once you see what they do, it’s incredible. We all have a journey in life, we just need to help each other.”
To learn more, visit onedadsmission.org or https://www.rmhcphilly.org/