Anchor House’s new chairperson helps prepare for annual Ride for Runways
By Jessica Oates
Thomas J. Pryor has participated in Anchor House’s annual Ride for Runaways six times before. This time will be a little different.
As Anchor House gears up for its annual 7-day, 500-mile long charity ride, it does so with a new leader. In January, the Trenton-based nonprofit announced the election of Pryor as president of its Board of Directors. Anchor House provides programs and services for homeless, runaway, abused and neglected children
Pryor’s involvement with Anchor House has included six years as a Ride for Runaways participant and service as the 1st vice president and chair of the renovation committee. Pryor lives in Robbinsville with his wife Regina. His daughters Marie and Caroline have also been involved with the ride, both as support crew members some years, and Marie as a cyclist in others. Pryor’s youngest daughter, Diana, had been too young to participate in previous years, but he said it would come as no surprise if she signed up in the future.
Pryor is a certified civil trial attorney, mediator and shareholder with the law firm of Stark & Stark, and has practiced commercial litigation since 1986. A member of the founding board of Interfaith Caregivers, Pryor joined the Angel’s Wings, Inc. Board of Directors in January 2002—then still a new organization—and continued to serve through the organization’s 2004 merger with Anchor House.
Pryor explained that the mission of Angel’s Wings is to provide respite to infants and young children whose families meet with unfortunate, often very traumatic circumstances. Anchor House provides similar assistance to teens that find run away from home or find themselves homeless following traumatic events. After the two programs merged, Anchor house became the parents program to several outreach services that provide respite and guidance to infants through young adults.
“Central to the Anchor House mission is our advocacy on behalf of children and young adults, whose voices may not be otherwise heard,” he said.
Excited for this new position of leadership, Pryor says that his goals as president include building upon the strengths of the existing programs, and being in tune with the changing needs of the community.
“We have multiple locations and shelters all doing different things,” Pryor said. “Over time, our services have hardly changed, but we do see different issues within the population that we serve. We need to be sensitive to them so that we can adapt nimbly.”
Of the cyclists that participate in the Ride for Runaways year after year, Pryor said, “I think it’s an exceptional community of people that are united by the common desire to make a difference in the lives of children. Once they do the ride, people say they’re ‘hooked,’ and it’s true in the sense that you become part of this loose confederation of 200-plus people who come together to do something extraordinary and then, for the most part, stay connected. Lots of people begin to involve their children or spouses or friends. People have even met and married! It’s a unique bonding experience. Sometimes you feel like you’re part of the Tour de France, and others, part of a traveling circus.”
This year, one rider will be celebrating his 26th year on the ride, and approximately 40 new riders will be participating this year for the first time. For first time riders, board co-chair Julia Obetz said that the required, Anchor-House hosted training rides are extremely helpful. Riders will depart from Lexington, Virginia, on July 12, and will bike 70-80 miles per day until their return a week later.
Pryor will be riding for the first time in two years, following hip replacement surgery, and is excited for the undertaking. It’s a challenge, but one that feels well worth it.
“The undercurrent of the whole thing is that you are doing it for the kids,” he said. “When the ride gets tough, you remember that you are doing it for the benefit of a program that will provide shelter to a child who has no place left to go.”
In addition to the annual Ride for Runaways, Anchor House has volunteer opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
“Many people that get involved with the organization may have experienced what it’s like to be disconnected from a stable nuclear family, and appreciate how important this kind of support can be to a child in need,” Pryor said. “There are also people who feel fortunate and want to share with others.”
Pryor said that he and the other riders look forward to riding into the Quaker Bridge Mall at the end of the ride, where they will be surrounded by friends and family members after being on the road for a week.
“You ride in with 200 of your new best friends, with everyone cheering and clapping around you, and it gives you the chills every time,” Pryor said.
For more information about Anchor House and the Ride for Runaways, go online to anchorhousenj.org.
UPDATE: Due to health issues, Thomas Pryor will no longer be participating in the Ride for Runways. A statement from Pryor follows:
“As a result of a preventive pre-ride cardiac stress test, I needed to have placement of a stent in one of my coronary arteries last week, thus taking me out of the ability to participate in the ride this year. I had a serious blockage and having had this show up in a test, averted the risk of more serious complications. Everything seems to have gone well, and I’m advised that the condition can be managed.
“I greatly appreciate the support many of you have provided in connection with this year’s ride. The cause remains very worthwhile, and although I will miss the opportunity to be out there with the other riders, I hope to be back again next year. “
Robbinsville resident Thomas Pryor rides with his daughter Marie during a past Anchor House Ride for Runaways.,
