{"id":21242,"date":"2021-07-13T13:53:34","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T13:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adra.org\/?p=21242"},"modified":"2026-03-24T14:30:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:30:58","slug":"news-release-father-and-son-team-to-kayak-200-mile-chesapeake-bay-to-raise-support-for-adras-pandemic-hunger-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/news-release-father-and-son-team-to-kayak-200-mile-chesapeake-bay-to-raise-support-for-adras-pandemic-hunger-relief","title":{"rendered":"Comunicado de prensa: Padre e hijo recorren en kayak 200 millas de la bah\u00eda de Chesapeake para recaudar fondos para la lucha contra el hambre pand\u00e9mica de ADRA"},"content":{"rendered":"

ELKRIDGE, MD (July 13, 2021) \u2013 On July 16, a Maryland father and son sea kayaking team will embark on a self-styled expedition they\u2019ve named the Bay 200 Challenge<\/strong>, a 12-day kayaking journey to raise money for hunger relief, one of the most pressing COVID-19 related issues affecting people today. The father and son duo will journey on a 200-mile (320 km) north-to-south traverse of the Chesapeake Bay in the U.S. East Coast, the largest bay in the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hearly Mayr and his 13-year-old son, Andreas, spend time outdoors after more than a year of being mostly home due to travel and social distancing restrictions. <\/em>
Photo courtesy: Hearly Mayr. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WATCH: Hearly Mayr and his son Andreas share why they’re doing this. Click AQU\u00cd<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe last 16 months had our share of ups and downs. My wife, Andrea, who is a pediatric care nurse and a recent nurse practitioner graduate, really bore the biggest share of the burden. She spent countless hours assisting critically ill children and COVID-19 patients, but the pandemic really helped our family put a lot of things in perspective,” says Hearly Mayr, a father of two boys, Andreas, 13, and Carsten, 11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have so much to be thankful for. We have jobs, healthcare, access to school, a home, food, and so many other things. Sadly, many people here in the U.S. and around the world can\u2019t say the same. As we counted our blessings, we knew that we had to do something to help others. That\u2019s why we decided to use our summer vacation to launch the Bay 200 Challenge to let our community know that even though the pandemic is easing in the U.S., people here at home and in other countries are still facing very serious COVID-19 related challenges each day, especially hunger,” Mayr says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The duo will be traveling from Elk River in Maryland and head southbound for 200 miles concluding their trip at Smith Island beach in Virginia. Image courtesy: Hearly Mayr.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

En Bay 200 Challenge<\/strong> is supporting the Adventist Development and Relief Agency’s (ADRA) COVID-19 hunger pandemic response campaign, which aims to raise US$3 million by July 31. This support will help families who have been hit hard by the pandemic by providing access to food and other essentials. Thanks to generous donors and partners, every $1 donated is being matched and will become $3. To support the effort, visit <\/a>www.ADRA.org\/bay200challenge\/give<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink about it\u2014200 miles, father and son going down the Chesapeake Bay. It\u2019s amazing to see them taking that kind of initiative to support ADRA\u2019s COVID-19 hunger response. The global COVID-19 pandemic is far from over and the situation is pushing families into poverty, and causing an ongoing hunger crisis,\u201d says Matthew Siliga, ADRA\u2019s vice-president of marketing and development. \u201cKeeping people from going hungry and having access to proper nutrition is part of ADRA\u2019s ongoing global response to the COVID-19 crisis, and any donation amount, any little bit helps our efforts, so please support Hearly and his son in the Bay 200 Challenge.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 severely affected food access for millions of vulnerable families in almost every country in the world with the impact projected to continue well into 2022. According to the  2021 Global Report on Food Crises<\/a>, pandemic-related disruptions, conflict and climate change, hunger levels in dozens of food-insecure<\/a> countries are projected to increase to a five-year high. At least 155 million people in 55 countries were already acutely food insecure in 2020 and in need of urgent assistance, and those numbers could continue to climb, disproportionately affecting women and girls and low- and middle-income communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADRA\u2019s COVID-19 hunger relief efforts continue to expand to meet the specific needs of communities worldwide. Projects include funding 200 food pantry expansions<\/a> in the U.S. in partnership with Adventist Community Services, assisting thousands of South American families who lost jobs and income due to COVID-19, and teaching African communities to plant gardens to secure nutrition and income for families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to help people in need and find creative ways to do so. I\u2019m ready to do my part and use my talents,\u201d says Andreas Mayr, who finished seventh grade in May at Atholton Adventist Academy in Columbia, Maryland.  If successful, Andreas could become one of the youngest, if not the youngest kayaker, to paddle the entire Chesapeake Bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mayrs kayak on Sandy Point beach for a father and son bonding moment.
Photo courtesy: Hearly Mayr.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

En Bay 200 Challenge<\/strong> will launch from Elk River Park south of Elkton, Maryland, on Friday, July 16. The trip will be divided into 12 stages and will follow the eastern part of the Chesapeake Bay all the way to Smith Island, Virginia, where the bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team will be traveling on two Canadian-made Bor\u00e9al Design sea kayaks\u2014the Epsilon 200 measuring 17 feet (517 cm) in length with a maximum weight capacity of 295 pounds (134 kg) and the Epsilon 100 measuring 16.4 feet (500 cm) with a weight capacity of 240 pounds (109 kg). They plan to reach their destination by July 28. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis challenge is also an amazing opportunity for my son Andreas and I to experience nature in a different way, create new memories, and see what\u2019s physically possible for us,\u201d adds Mayr. \u201cYou never know what new things you\u2019ll learn from a trip like this, how it will impact your life, or how it can shape the way you see things in the future. I encourage more families to find creative ways to spend time with their children and give back to their community. It is an investment worth making.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hearly and Andreas Mayr have done several activities together, including kayaking, hiking and mountain biking. Photos courtesy: Hearly Mayr. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mayr, who turns 50 next January, is no stranger to personal adventures and travel. He biked more than 850 miles (1,350 kms) across Alaska from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean, hiked the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia on the Appalachian Trail, drove from Chile\u2019s northern Atacama Desert to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, retraced the Alaskan wilderness travels of Chris McCandless as told in the book Into the Wild<\/em>, crossed Russia in winter on the Trans-Siberian railroad from Vladivostok to Moscow, and undertook other exciting adventures. He grew up in Chile, France, Madagascar, and Kenya and has traveled throughout North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia. He has also been to all 50 U.S. states. Both he and Andreas are avid kayakers, mountain bikers, and hikers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get updates by following the hashtag #BAY200CHALLENGE<\/strong> or follow @hearlymayr on Facebook<\/a> y Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH: Hearly and Andreas on FOX 5 DC<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los periodistas que deseen obtener entrevistas para este reportaje pueden enviar un correo electr\u00f3nico a press@ADRA.org<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the #BAY200CHALLENGE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The #BAY200CHALLENGE was conceived in 2020 as a father-son kayaking project by Maryland residents Hearly Mayr and Andreas Mayr to spend more quality time together, to test themselves against the outdoors, and to spark a greater desire for exploration and discovery. They hope that others, especially young people, will be inspired to explore nature and to challenge themselves in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acerca de ADRA <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Agencia Adventista de Desarrollo y Recursos Asistenciales es el brazo humanitario internacional de la Iglesia Adventista del S\u00e9ptimo D\u00eda, que presta servicio en 118 pa\u00edses. Su labor empodera a las comunidades y cambia vidas en todo el mundo proporcionando desarrollo comunitario sostenible y ayuda en caso de cat\u00e1strofes. El prop\u00f3sito de ADRA es servir a la humanidad para que todos puedan vivir como Dios manda. Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n, visite ADRA.org<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

El 16 de julio, un equipo de kayak de mar formado por un padre y un hijo de Maryland se embarcar\u00e1 en una expedici\u00f3n autodenominada Bay 200 Challenge, un viaje en kayak de 12 d\u00edas de duraci\u00f3n destinado a recaudar fondos para paliar el hambre, uno de los problemas COVID-19 m\u00e1s acuciantes que afectan a la poblaci\u00f3n hoy en d\u00eda. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[609,284,614,783,792],"tags":[741,774,873,1137],"class_list":["post-21242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-assistance","category-health","category-news","category-north-america","category-united-states","tag-adventist-church","tag-covid-19","tag-justice-compassion-love","tag-ways-to-give"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21242"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45870,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21242\/revisions\/45870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}