1,000 Miles for 1,000 Lights: Cyclists complete fundraiser pedaling into Downers Grove

At the conclusion of their 1,000-mile bike ride Sept. 27, Scott and Jessica Hein and Todd Wilson entered the home office of Watts of Love, the Downers Grove-based nonprofit, to cheers from staff and volunteers with each rider taking a turn getting emotional.

Wilson and Scott Hein rode 70 miles Friday to finish their second 1,000-mile bike ride – which started in Boston – to raise money for the Watts of Love 1,000 Miles for 1,000 Lights fundraiser.

The group, which included Scott’s wife, Jessica, who drove a support vehicle, arrived before the official celebration at the Downers Grove Moose Lodge down the street. The ride benefited families who live in extreme impoverished parts of the world by providing them with light – a solar light.

This was the second time the trio made a trek from the eastern part of the U.S. to Downers Grove to raise awareness of those living without light. In 2023, they completed a 1,000-mile bicycle ride from New Jersey to Downers Grove.

Last year’s ride raised about $31,000, allowing the nonprofit to deliver 620 solar lights and positively impact 4,340 lives in Malawi, a country in southeastern Africa.

To date, this year’s ride has raised about $18,000 with hopes of reaching $50,000.

As the two riders shared stories of the trip, which included carrying their bikes across ditches and up a steep incline, they both said Jessica Hein’s help and detailed planning caused the bike trip to run like clockwork.

After all, it was Jessica Hein who first heard Watts of Love founder Nancy Economou speak about her organization and its mission. Leaving the event in tears, Hein believed she had to do something.

First, she raised money through her business and now she plays a pivotal role in the biking fundraiser.

As the group kept each other motivated along the cycling journey, Wilson thought, “This is not hard. Riding a bike isn’t hard. Living like the folks in Malawi, that is hard.”

“Doing something I love and to do it to raise awareness for a cause is definitely very humbling,” Scott Hein said. “Last year, we met a lot of people along the ride who started asking questions. This year was even more.”

Scott Hein and Wilson are longtime coworkers at Cisco Systems. Scott Hein first mentioned fundraising via the bike ride on a group call.

A hybrid athlete, Wilson, who lives in Rochester, New York, said, “For me to get on a bike for two weeks, I was a bit stunned, but I am in.”

Watts of Love was started 11 years ago by Economou after a chance encounter with a girl on a remote island in the Philippines while on a business trip with her husband.

The girl’s face had been burned by a kerosene lamp, a frequent occurrence in countries without electricity, and she was putting toothpaste on the wound to help soothe it.

Coming home, Economou was compelled to do something.

She designed a user-friendly, solar-powered lamp that can be used in any environment to bring light to those oppressed by real and metaphorical darkness.

In 2018, the nonprofit began distributing the lights.

The organization has impacted the lives of about one million people by offering them a solar light along with financial literacy education.

The education component is key because it teaches the individuals how to save the money they were spending on kerosene, candles, batteries and other unsustainable sources of power.

Families invest the money in animals that will help increase their overall income.

Still, there are more than one billion people globally who are facing similar needs.

“In the communities we go into residents are using about 30% of their income just to have light,” said Mary Barton, director of development for Watts of Love. “We try to help them take back that 30% with a solar light and reinvest it in their families.”

“The average annual savings per family is about $155 a year per light,” Economou said.

This occurs in countries where families live on about $3.20 a day, she said.

Watts of Love provides its solar lights to individuals living in about 50 countries with a focus on Malawi, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana and the Philippines.

“Light is the fastest way out of poverty,” Economou said.

The riders already have sights on next year’s fundraiser.

Economou said the group has plans to start in Downers Grove and bike to Washington, D.C.

To donate, visit https://shorturl.at/cepsQ.