Hello everyone! We’re going to talk a little bit about a member of the Lincoln community, Robert Rieck. Robert is an animal rights, environmental, and disability rights advocate, and a volunteer for many organizations such as Factory Farming Awareness Coalition (FFAC) and Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach. He’s also received some media attention for playing wheelchair rugby, as well as competing in the Good Life Halfsy half-marathon as the first C-5 quadriplegic to complete it.
Robert will be participating in the Good Life Halfsy again on October 29. It’s more than simply participating for him: he has also pushed for and succeeded in getting the categories for wheelchair-using participants expanded! Before it was a general “wheelchair division,” and now it has been broadened to different categories based on individual mobility to create more inclusive divisions. Robert hopes that in creating these divisions, more people with his degree of disability will join him in the Halfsy to give each other the drive to compete.
In doing so Robert will be asking for support in the form of donations to five organizations he endorses: Vegan Outreach, FFAC, Matt Talbot, Eastern Nebraska Wheelchair Athletic Association… and The Black Cat House! He will also be presenting at The Black Cat House on October 21, 1 to 3 PM, on behalf of FFAC. He’ll be speaking on how society’s food choices affect a wide range of social justice topics; the exploitation of workers and animals, environmental racism, the strains factory farming puts on ecosystems, and more.
We’re honored that Robert is endorsing The Black Cat House. If you too support what we do, feel free to send in a donation via PayPal! You can also show your support by coming to our events, spreading the word, and checking out other ways to contribute on our Support page! We’ll also be posting periodic updates on how his marathon training is going. If you’re interested in hearing more about Robert and his story, please email us with questions for him, and he’ll be happy to answer them!