Dear Cyclists, The Shaken Baby Alliance www.shakenbaby.com is putting on a fundraising & awareness raising bicycle ride in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday, May 22, 2004. Many of the proceeds from A Ride To Action will go toward a conference we are bringing to Albuquerque in the fall of 2004 on serious physical child abuse. Shaken Baby Syndrome is a serious, often fatal, form of child abuse that is the result of a caregiver becoming frustrated and losing control, violently shaking a child, and leaving that child either permanently brain damaged or dead. My two year old daughter, Maggie, was shaken and beaten to death in January 1998.

We are looking for riders to join us for 30, 60, or 100 miles. The registration fee is $35 and a minimum fundraising amount to ride or to be an honorary rider is $100, regardless of the distance. Prizes will be awarded to the riders who raise the most. Please refer to our website for full details and registration. We would appreciate it if you would put this ride on your calendar and website for your members and visitors. We could also use sponsors for monetary donations or donations of goods such as water, ice, Gatorade, protein bars, etc. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for A Ride To Action, please contact either Kathy Dittman (kaoddvm@cs.com) or Cathy Salazar (cmasalazar@earthlink.net) for sponsorship opportunities. We have produced a packet for anyone who might be willing to help. It includes a testimonial letter from Cathy Salazar, whose daughter, three year old Chloe, will always be a blind quadraplegic after being shaken at 2 months of age. It also includes a poster, registration pamphlets, postcards with ride info, and details on sponsorship and volunteer opportunities. If you would like us to mail you one of these packets, just send us a mailing address and we'll get one right out to you.

Lastly, we can always use volunteers to help at rehydration stations, registration, and in many other roles. If your group can help with this endeavor in any or all of the above ways, we would be truly grateful. Thanks in advance for your help!

Kathy Dittman Secretary, The Shaken Baby Alliance www.shakenbaby.com