Becoming an adult who cares

When Daniel Silbert was planning a community service project for his bar mitzvah, he wanted to do something fun that would help a good cause.

"I like biking, so I was searching for some kind of biking thing online," he said.

Then his dad told him about Tour de Lis, an April bike ride along the lakefront that raises money to fight cancer.

Daniel, 13, thought it sounded like a perfect fit for him. His Uncle Eli, a favorite great uncle, had died of lymphoma, and five members of his family are cancer survivors.

So he decided to ask people to donate to Tour de Lis instead of giving him bar mitzvah presents.

"But I'm not just asking people to donate money. I'm asking people to ride in it, too," he said.

--- Starting small ---

Tour de Lis was started in 2007 by Carol and Harold Asher to honor a cousin battling brain cancer.

The first year, they set up a ride around Lake Pontchartrain, and five riders raised $40,000 in pledges.

But the Ashers wanted to make the bike ride a community event, so last year they changed the route to a beautiful 9-mile loop on the New Orleans lakefront.

"I like that because it means anyone can do it," Daniel said. "You can do one loop or as many loops as you want."

The money the ride raises goes to three groups: the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which advocates for better cancer research; Planet Cancer, an organization that helps young people facing cancer; and the Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans (CAGNO), a grassroots group that helps local people with the added expenses of fighting cancer.

--- Getting bigger ---

Last year, Tour de Lis organizers had the goal of raising $100,000, which they surpassed, so this year their goal is $250,000....