BREA : Wheeling, Dealing to Help Students

There’s a limit to how far Brea-Olinda High School teacher Tori Lee will go for her students--4,000 miles to be exact.

Lee will pedal that distance this summer on a trip she hopes will help raise $4,000 to provide extracurricular activities for low-income students who are studying English as a second language.

There is seldom money for such luxuries as yearbooks and going to the prom and grad night, Lee said, pointing out that even the traditional cap and gown worn at graduation costs $40, a sum that is out of the reach for many students.

For the past six years, Lee has helped students by slipping them money to buy prom tickets, using her camera to take senior pictures and getting the yearbook publisher to supply some lower-priced books.

“It is important to me that these kids get to take part in senior activities,” the teacher said. “They have been working their tails off. Many work full-time jobs to support themselves or help their families put food on the table.”

Last year, Lee, the school’s only English-as-a-second-language teacher, held a dinner in her mother’s back yard for 12 ESL students who were attending the prom but couldn’t afford to go out to dinner.

Using borrowed china and silver, Lee served teriyaki chicken and sparkling apple cider in a yard festooned with flowers and lights. With a gazebo and fountain in the background, Lee said the atmosphere was similar to a nice restaurant.

“The kids were running around taking pictures of each other and having a great time,” she said. “It really gets to you when you see how much they enjoy even the littlest thing you do for them.”

So far this year, Lee has raised slightly more than $1,000, mostly from friends. She plans to buy 10 cap-and-gown sets that students can borrow for graduation next June, and she’ll help students with the cost of yearbooks, prom and other senior activities.

In the past, Lee said she was able to get these items donated or reduced for the handful of ESL seniors. But recently, a growing number of students plus fewer donations have made it harder to help every senior.

Lee is no stranger to long bike rides. In 1986, she rode 1,400 miles around Europe. The following summer she trekked across Alaska and spent the summer of 1988 leading tours in several states. But since then, her rides have been limited to local forays.

Lee, 33, will join a small group of riders leaving from Maine on Thursday. During the tour, which was arranged by Christian Adventures, the riders will average 80 to 85 miles day. She will raise funds from people who have promised to contribute a certain sum of money for every mile she completes.

To keep her motivated during the ride, Lee said she plans to keep pictures of her students taped to her bike handles. She has asked her students to send her letters along the way.

Lee is personally paying the $4,000-plus cost of the nine-week tour and none of the money raised will be used to pay her back, she said.

She knows she could have used her money to finance her student’s activities, but she wanted to include others in the effort. She distributed more than 300 packets detailing her trip and asking for pledges.

“I wanted something that more people could support and be a part of,” Lee said. “I wanted the students to feel involved.”