Wings of Justice

There are many worthy causes that deserve our support. Perhaps nothing harms our society more, however, than child abuse. Disease attacks our bodies; abuse attacks our spirits. Trials can bring families together; abuse tears them apart. Love builds; abuse, the antithesis of love, destroys. We are dedicated to doing something about this.

Who we are.

Wings of Justice is a cycling club dedicated to ending child abuse. Our members are spread along the Wasatch Front, throughout southern Utah, and even in a number of different states and countries. All are welcome—road runners, trail runners—you name it. We raise money to support four outstanding organizations making a difference in our community: Prevent Child Abuse Utah, Friends of the Salt Lake County Children’s Justice Center, Operation Underground Railroad, and the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition.

The mission of PCAU is to forge and guide a community commitment to prevent child abuse in all forms through education, services, and public awareness. PCAU provides prevention education to both students and adults. Its student presentations include child abuse prevention, bullying prevention, internet safety, and healthy relationships. Its adult presentations are geared towards adults working with children and the overall community. It also administers a sexual abuse prevention training program for parents and caregivers. All of PCAU’s education is evidence-informed, age-based, and free of charge and is supported through donations. Watch this 30-second video
to learn more. www.pcautah.org

The Friends of the Salt Lake County Children’s Justice Center provides support to the Salt Lake County Children’s Justice Center. The CJC’s expert team empower child victims to become survivors by receiving hope, healing, and justice. The team provides crisis support, onsite medical exams, sensitive forensic interview sessions to record their statements, referrals to trauma therapists, client emergency fund, and much more. The CJC is administered by the Salt Lake County District Attorney to help abused children recover from their experiences and receive support through all phases of the investigation and criminal justice process. www.cjcslc.org

The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the
early to mid 19^thcentury to help African American slaves escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists, who were sympathetic to their cause. O.U.R. has taken on this name as it works to put an end to modern slavery in the form of child sex trafficking. O.U.R.’s Underground Jump Team consists of former CIA, Navy SEALs, and Special Ops operatives that lead coordinated identification and extraction efforts to free children. These operations are always in conjunction with law enforcement throughout the world. Once victims are rescued, a comprehensive process involving justice for the perpetrators and recovery and rehabilitation for the survivors begins. www.ourrescue.org

A lesser-known form of child abuse occurs when children are exposed to domestic violence between adults. Children who witness domestic violence are at serious risk for long-term physical and mental health problems. Children who witness domestic violence are also six times more likely to be involved in domestic violence relationships themselves in adulthood. The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition is a private non-profit organization recognized nationally for providing expertise concerning issues of domestic and sexual violence to member programs, community partners and others in Utah. Their work is focused around four essential areas: Advocate, Collaborate, Educate, and Connect. UDVC proposes, promotes, and advises on policies and practices that enhance victim safety and empowerment while raising awareness of the need for prevention and intervention. They work closely with community-based victim service providers, key stakeholders, policy makers, and community partners to provide comprehensive, trauma-informed, statewide services and responses. They provide technical assistance and training to member programs, law enforcement, and community partners, as well as work with media and others to raise awareness of domestic abuse and the need for prevention and intervention. Finally, they operate a 24-hour confidential hotline, known as the LINKLine: 1-800-897-LINK (5465), that offers trauma-informed support and connects survivors, friends, family, service providers and others to local resources. www.udvc.org

What we do.

Whether it’s in our annual Ain’t No Mountain High Enough! team ride, in small groups spread throughout the state on weekends, or solo riders simply reppin’ our colors, we mostly just have fun riding in the beautiful outdoors and enjoying the comradery that comes from riding with a common purpose.

We raise money through the sale of team merchandise and through in-kind and cash donations from our many community partners. One of our partners, Utah-based DNA Cycling, has made its coveted BIO Fit jersey and Elite bib shorts (custom made in Italy) available to our members at a steeply discounted price to assist in our fundraising efforts. You can purchase a team kit by visiting the DNA Store.

Bicycle Accidents

What you can do to help.

You can do a number of different things to help us make a difference:

Join the team! Membership in Wings of Justice is absolutely free.
Rep’ our colors! DNA Cycling makes our team kits available to us below cost. All proceeds go to help the kids. Just wearing the kit helps make a difference by raising awareness of this important issue.
Donate! We gladly accept cash or in-kind donations.
Make Wings of Justice your nonprofit of choice on eBay and Amazon for seller donations.
Spread the word! Know another cyclist or a local business that likes to give back to the community? Let them know about us.
Serve! Consider taking some time to give back to the community, preferably in an endeavor related to our mission. Are you an attorney or another professional? You can provide pro bono professional services to our beneficiary organizations or directly to the children and families we serve.
Like to ride? Check out our sister team, Wheels of Justice!

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough!

Come, tackle all five of Salt Lake City’s riding canyons with us!

Our major event each year is our Ain’t No Mountain High Enough! ride. The ride ascends all five of Salt Lake City’s rideable canyons: Little Cottonwood Canyon, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Millcreek Canyon, Emigration Canyon, and then, City Creek Canyon! Riders can choose one, two, three, four, or all five canyons. This formidable ride—with more elevation gain than the most prominent peak in the continental United States, and even more than the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawai’i—is meant to show that people can overcome any challenge. It also shows our team’s commitment to protecting and helping children.

Those who climb all five canyons receive a killer finisher’s medal, courtesy of DNA Cycling (Drive Marketing). All riders, regardless of how many mountains they conquer, receive a free Specialized 2nd Gen Big Mouth water bottle, courtesy of UtahBikingLaw.com. Thanks to our other generous local partners, there are also some very cool giveaways, as well as prizes awarded to the KOM and QOM of each canyon. Rally your friends and come join us in 2019!

For more information or to join the ride, click here.