Mark Schultz, a platinum selling, Dove Award winning recording artist, has teamed up with Family Christian Stores' The James Fund and a host of other sponsors to raise funds for orphans and widows by embarking on an ACROSS AMERICA bike ride.

Beginning May 6 through early July, Schultz will bicycle from California to New Hampshire stopping along the way to perform concerts featuring music from his acclaimed, best-selling album, Broken & Beautiful (Word Records). In a recent press release Schultz says, “My wheels are turning to actually get somewhere.” And that destination is his cause of helping orphans and widows.

Fans can further support the cause by signing up to sponsor Schultz’s bike ride at www.markacrossamerica.org The website will also track Schultz’s progress on the tour, list concerts and special events, feature a photo gallery and more.

Schultz’s decision to make this 3,500-mile trek came from a visit he and his wife, Kate, made to orphanages in Mexico. In the spring of 2006, they went on a mission trip with The James Fund, a non-profit organization founded by Family Christian Stores, to meet the needs of orphans and widows in distress. Schultz’s himself was a child of adoption and this drew him to explore this ministry. Seeing firsthand the harsh realities for many orphans and realizing that he could have easily been one of the boys in the orphanage, he wanted to make a difference.

“I went to visit some orphanages last spring and hang out with the kids, and I thought, how can I raise money for these kids?” says Schultz in a recent statement. “It seemed like nobody in the music business had ever done a tour where they rode their bike across the country and did concerts. I thought, that sounds impossible, lets do that!”

Riding his bike alone across the country, Schultz says he sees it as a team endeavor with all the sponsors who have come alongside him and The James Fund, including the Christian adoption and family services agency, Bethany Christian Services (bethany.org), as well as Trek Bikes (trekbikes.com), Gospel Music Association (gospelmusic.org), and more.