Couple Begins Five-Month Trek from Washington to San Francisco

'Miles for Measles' launches Thursday from Red Cross headquarters

WASHINGTON, Tuesday, June 01, 2004 — A Washington-area couple will leave Thursday, June 3, to run and bike a cross-country journey beginning in Washington, D.C. and ending in San Francisco in early October to raise funds for the American Red Cross Measles Initiative and the Africa Great Lakes Initiative. This journey continues Matt Chico and Laura Shipler Chico's commitment to working to better the lives of people around the world.

Matt will run while Laura rides the Transamerica Trail from Washington, D.C. to Pueblo, CO, where the two will pick up the Western Express route, a more direct course to San Francisco. The 10 states en route (3,800 miles) include Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. Many of the ninety-two American Red Cross chapters and local universities along the way will host events.

Matt has volunteered and worked for the American Red Cross for more than seven years on humanitarian projects such as Hurricanes Mitch and Georges relief programs and a 5-year child health project spanning 10 countries of Latin America. Laura, his wife, is graduating from a Master's program in social work and has been hired to work at a conflict resolution center in Rwanda after their coast-to-coast journey.

"Through Miles for Measles, Matt and Laura are bringing visibility across the country to arguably the most important international public health effort in the history of the American Red Cross," said Gerry Jones, American Red Cross Vice President of International Services. "Their humanitarian efforts will help save the lives of children in Africa who suffer from measles, a disease that can be prevented for less than one dollar per child."

Matt and Laura have chosen the American Red Cross Measles Initiative as a beneficiary of this coast-to-coast effort because of its effectiveness in preventing childhood deaths on a large scale - vaccinating 1.2 million children over the five year life of the Initiative. The Africa Great Lakes Initiative will also publicize this cross-country odyssey to raise awareness and funds for trauma healing work in Rwanda. Matt and Laura will move to Rwanda in October 2004.

Launched in February 2001, the Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths in Africa by vaccinating 200 million children and preventing 1.2 million deaths over five years. Leading this effort is the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Other key players in the fight against measles include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and countries and governments affected by measles. While the Measles Initiative is focused in Africa where the majority of measles-related deaths occur, partners also work on a wide-range of health initiatives around the world, including measles control and other vaccination services outside of Africa.

To follow Matt and Laura's five-month journey or to make a financial donation, visit www.measlesinitiative.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Matt and Laura will be available for interviews before their official departure from the Red Cross headquarters at the corner of 20th and E Streets, N.W. at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, June 3.