ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — For the first time, the Make-A-Wish Foundation will be hosting a Ride for Wishes at The Wharf Friday through Sunday.

The Ride For Wishes 2009 is a cycling event for all ages and riding levels and will feature beautifully scenic rides through the sandy white beaches of Orange Beach.

“This will be our first time to be doing a ride in Orange Beach,” said John Sweeney, regional director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Georgia and Alabama. “A ride has been done in that area before but it was with a different organization.”

According to Sweeney, some riders in the Birmingham area who have participated in rides here before suggested that Make-A-Wish hold a ride here this fall.

“There was a void of rides in that area this year, so these guys approached us to see if we would be interested in working with them to help put a ride together to raise money for Make-A-Wish,” Sweeney said.

Saturday will feature a 100-mile ride, a Metric Century, a 50-mile Out and Back, and a 17-mile Family Fun Loop.  

Sunday will feature a Metric Century, a 50-mile Out and Back, and a 17-mile Family Fun Loop.   All rides will start and finish from The Wharf, and all pre- and post-event functions will be hosted at various Wharf venues.  

The riders pay a nominal fee to participate in the ride, and then they collect donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Money that is raised from the Ride for Wishes 2009 goes to grant wishes to children ages 2 1/2 to 18, with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Presently, there are more than 100 wishes in Alabama waiting to be granted, with the average cost of a wish being $6,700.

In the United States, more than 180,000 wishes have been granted since the program started in 1980, and more than 4,000 in Georgia and Alabama since 1995.

“Our goal for this event is $50,000 and we are about half way there,” Sweeny said.