MTS Logistics’ 14th annual bike tour, held on June 8, successfully raised over $120,000 for autism awareness and acceptance. All proceeds raised from the event were donated to Spectrum Works, a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization that provides job training and opportunities for young adults with autism.
Over the past 15 years, nearly $500,000 has been raised for autism awareness and acceptance through the efforts of MTS Logistics and the shipping industry’s largest bike riding event. With 150 participants, including adults and children as young as 5 years old, this year was also the largest in the event’s history in both attendance and volume of funds raised.
Starting in downtown Manhattan, participants biked to Brighton Beach and enjoyed a healthy lunch. Before biking back to Manhattan, everyone got to hear firsthand from students who have benefited from the funds raised for Spectrum Works in past years.Attendees heard from Sywon Sims, an intern employed by Rent the Runway, Hennessy Kingsley, a high school student who has been gaining work experience at Spectrum Works, and Tavon Green, who received job training from Spectrum Works and was hired by FM Expressions as a production artist. These student testimonials demonstrated the real-world impact of donations and event participation.
MTS Logistics President Sedat Saka says the student speakers were the highlight of the event and the reason MTS Logistics and Spectrum Works continue to invest in autism awareness. “When attendees were listening to the students who found jobs through the Spectrum Works training program, I could see the joy in everyone’s faces. We were all proud to be part of this achievement,” he said.
Saka was encouraged to see young children participating. “We believe kids are the future. At school or in daily life, every kid will meet a neurodivergent individual, and it’s good for them to see what kind of challenges those individuals are facing,” Saka said. “It’s important that kids learn from a young age that it’s OK to be different.”
In a statement about the event’s success, Saka added:
“I am so proud of all of our supporters who joined us for this great cause, including our customers, employees, families and friends. Thanks to all of our sponsors who helped raise our highest total ever. I would also like to thank Spectrum Works for its great mission and dedication to increasing autism acceptance and for its support for our event.”
The event’s numerous sponsors included a wide variety of companies in shipping, logistics and business. Turkish Philanthropy Funds and Bergen Logistics helped organize the event, while Turkish Airlines donated round-trip tickets which were raffled off at the event, and PortX Inc., Orient Star Group, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, CGA CGM and dozens of others contributed to the cause of autism awareness.
MTS Logistics is a global freight forwarder headquartered in New York. It expertly serves a number of industries including chemicals, liquids, fashion, retail, food service, power generation, construction and mining, and oil and gas. Powered by state-of-the-art technology, MTS Logistics gives its shippers complete control over all shipments and purchase orders from start to finish.
Spectrum Works is a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing job training and employment opportunities for autistic high school students and other young adults on the spectrum. It was founded by Ann Marie Sullivan, an entrepreneur with two decades of experience in building and managing startup organizations, to address a critical disconnect between an 85% unemployment rate for autistic individuals and their value to the workforce as employees with inherent skills and abilities.
Click here to learn more about the 14th Annual Bike Tour with MTS for Autism.
