Cassie Schumacher

 

CEO and Co-Founder of
Wheels 4 Change

 

by Maria Murphy, crew 6

 

                                                                                 

 “My dream would be to impact vets in all communities across America,” says Cassie Schumacher. From a young age Cassie Schumacher has seen some of the challenges of a veteran coming home from war. But now it’s important in her life to help others through their challenges.  Cassie started the organization, Wheels 4 Change, for veterans. She watched veterans struggle all throughout her life. With her organization she has plans to help veterans through their problems.

 

Cassie has had a unique past to help inspire her. She was born in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and lived here for 20 years. When she was younger she went to Veterans of Foreign Wars with her father to see his friends that had been in war and saw some of their struggles. Later in her life, in 2010, Cassie biked 244 miles without stopping and qualified for the toughest endurance race in America. She did it for a cause that mattered, which for her were veterans. This shows she cares for something that directly impacts and affects many people.

 

The Wheels 4 Change organization was made to help veterans through a hard time after they come out of war and support them. Cassie is the CEO for Wheels 4 Change. “My counseling job allows me to have different mindset and insights giving her a different agenda when working with the vets,” Cassie said. This show she is able to relate to their problems more because she is more sympathetic to their problems. She uses bikes to the help vets because it can keep them healthy and it helps relieve stress and she believes it is the starting point of outreach.

 

Ms. Schumacher faced many challenges starting the Wheels 4 Change organization. To start a nonprofit organization you need people to give up their time. For example, people usually are very excited and supportive at first as volunteers. But then they leave when they get bored, but soon new people step up to take their place. Cassie had to overcome the challenge of very little people being there to help out but eventually got over the challenge to get her organization to where it is now.

 

Ms. Schumacher has a dream to have an impact on veterans all across America. But she needs some help to do that. Cassie has goals to help accomplish her dream like to get a main location to store the bikes they use. Also, she would like to get a place to allow the veterans to hang out and relax with each other. These locations would allow veterans to be able to socialize with people with similar scenarios and be able to relate to each other.

 

So far Cassie’s organization, Wheels 4 Change, has raised over $16,000 in 2012 and 2013. She also rode across the country to raise awareness for veterans and about the challenges they go through after they come out of a war like drinking, drug use, depression, sadness, etc. Also, Cassie has been able to give scholarships for retreats and bikes for the vets. But overall, they have given the vets hope and let them know people care about them.

 

Cassie took her childhood experience with veterans and made an organization to make sure people don’t go through the same things she did. She has helped many veterans go through their hard times because she wanted to show that someone cared for them and has made it her mission to show that. Cassie said “When you have the passion in your heart and follow it that is what it takes to change the world.”