The Sam Ozer Fund was created to honor the memory of Samuel Ozer '20, an avid cyclist, budding engineer, environmentalist and outdoorsman who was taken from us far too soon.
Donations to the Sam Ozer Fund will go directly to support the creation and operation of Sam's Place. Sam's Place will be the home of Project Bike Tech where students from AIM and our community will come to learn from mentor teachers and students the skill of bike repair and technology. Sam's place will create a sense of community for anyone who is interested in biking and a passion for learning.
AIM Academy has committed to building Sam’s Place to honor Sam’s memory and help the community heal from this devastating, tragic loss. Sam’s Place will be a hub where students, especially those with learning differences, will develop a passion for cycling and equip themselves with the attitudes and skills needed to go forth into the world as Sam did: confident, prepared, and enthusiastic. A generous gift from Trek Bikes will enable us to outfit a bicycle repair school to where young people will learn from mentor peers, parents, and teachers through trying, tinkering, and safely failing.
The Sam Ozer Memorial Project is one of WRV’s newest restoration sites. In October 2020 volunteers began to clear invasive exotic plants from a new site along the trail between Historic Rittenhousetown and Blue Bell. Now, in an area that had once been blanketed by a dense monoculture of Japanese knotweed, a small forest – Sam’s Forest – is beginning to grow.
In April 2021, Phase Two of Sam's Forest will be planted just up the trail from Rittenhousetown.
