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56
september
october 201 3
A second high-profile
activity is RHM’Äôs street
paper,
TheAmplifier
. In 2010,
RHM launched
TheAmplifier
’Äúto give voice and economic
opportunity to those living beyond
the margins of our community and
to address the social issues that
affect them.’Äù A common sight since
TheAmplifier
’Äôs launch’Äîespecially
in downtown Knoxville’Äîis area
homeless selling the paper as a way
of helping support themselves.
Destitute vendors offer a copy of the
paper for a suggested donation of
$1, while paying RHMonly 25 cents
per copy to help defray the cost of its
production.
The Amplifier
is part of RHM’Äôs
meeting of community relational
needs, building ’Äúa bridge between
the very poor and the wider public
by helping people... understand
the personal stories of those on
the lowest rung of the economic
ladder.’Äù Pastor Young believes
the newspaper is essential to
telling the other side of the story
that most media overlooks in
favor of stereotypes and myths.
Within its pages, he advocates for
’Äúhousing first’Äù principles: that the
beginning step of rehabilitation is
to get an individual off the street
and into his or her own dwelling
(not just an emergency shelter),
where a human being can live with
the self-reliance of not needing
’Äúanother man’Äôs permission.’Äù
Besides healthy lifestyles, goal-
setting, and self-reliance, a fourth
value RHM seeks to cultivate in
those it serves is determination,
which is something LaMacchia’Äôs
relentless training embodies.
Moreover, LaMacchia feels an urgent
need to contribute. Like baseball
great Mickey Mantle, who came
from a family history of shortened
life spans, this father of three has
never felt life offers a guarantee of
longevity. He has already outlived
his mother, who died at 52 of a heart
attack. Because of spinal meningitis,
his brother spent his entire 16 years
of life unable to engage in robust
physical activities such as cycling.
LaMacchia grew up loving the
sport and once rode across the United
States, fromCalifornia to New Jersey,
averaging 70 miles a day for 56 days.
’ÄúMy parents bought me a bike for
Christmas when I was 14,’Äù he says.
’ÄúAnd I’Äôve been riding ever since. My
youngest son told me, ’ÄòYou really
know someone loves to cycle when
they ride a 36-pound mountain bike
as much as you do.’Äô’Äù
That mountain bike, though,
which LaMacchia says he has ridden
to pieces, was not the caliber of
bike needed for a competition like
the Senior Olympics. For more
competitive equipment, he turned
to his friend, Randy Schonagen,
at Bearden Bike and Trail.’ÄúI didn’Äôt
have a road bike to compete in the
race,’Äù says LaMacchia,’Äúbut when I
told Randy about Redeeming Hope,
he was immediately caught up in
trying to help the homeless. He’Äôs very
community-oriented andwanted to
pitch in any way he could.’Äù
Schonagen offered to loan
LaMacchia his personal Pinarello
to use: ’ÄúThat’Äôs the kind of guy
Randy is. He wanted to see
Redeeming Hope Ministries rocked
with donations.’Äù According to
LaMacchia, the Pinarello is one
of the top two bicycles made
in the world, with a value of
perhaps $10,000. ’ÄúIt’Äôs bred
to move,’Äù he says, ’ÄúSuch
fast acceleration. It could be
ridden in the Tour de France.’Äù
Through their Food in
the Fort program, RHM
offers groceries, hot
meals, fresh produce,
and even cooking
lessons to the poor
and underprivileged in
the Fort Sanders area.