Word Entertainment, inspired by Platinum selling, award-winning recording artist Mark Schultz’s “Across America” benefit bicycle ride that brought in more than $250,000 to help orphans and widows through the James Fund, has started the Mark Schultz Activity Fund. This fund, named in Schultz’s honour, will be used to provide fun outings for the children at the Back2Back Ministries children’s home in Monterrey, Mexico.

[L-R]: Tim Marshall, Sr. Vice President of Channel Marketing, Word Label Group; Rod Riley, Sr. VP of Marketing for Word Label Group; Schultz; Greg Lucid, Lucid Artist Management; and Greg Oliver, Greg Oliver Agency.

It was this children’s home that Schultz and his wife, Kate, visited in the spring of 2006 with the James Fund, and that gave Schultz inspiration as he rode over 3,500 miles to benefit orphans and widows worldwide. Through the new Mark Schultz Activity Fund, these children will have the opportunity to visit the amusement park, movie theatre and various outings that the children would normally never have the chance to experience.

“Word Entertainment is so pleased to play a small part in what Mark Schultz and the James Fund are doing to touch the lives of orphans in Mexico,” states Rod Riley, Sr. VP of Marketing for Word Label Group. “I speak for the entire Word Entertainment family when I say, ‘We couldn’t be more proud of Mark and what he has accomplished.’ It is an honour to partner with the James Fund in this tangible way and pray it will have a lasting impact on these kids for many years to come.”

“The Mark Schultz Activity Fund will be a tremendous blessing to hundreds of orphans we serve here in Mexico,” says Todd and Beth Guckenberger, Directors of Back2Back Ministries in Monterrey, Mexico. “It will facilitate adult/child interaction, provide fun memories and stories the children can share at school, and help them for a moment to feel the carefree living every child deserves. Thanks, Mark, for all your hard work and being the voice they don’t have.”

Word Entertainment has made a first donation of $1,000 to the fund with the idea of keeping it subsidized as the fund depletes. Others interested in making a donation can participate by logging onto www.jamesfund.org.

The Mark Schultz Activity Fund will benefit Back2Back Ministries through the James Fund, a non-profit organization founded to meet the needs of orphans and widows in distress. Back2Back exists to serve the abandoned and neglected children of Monterrey, Mexico. By connecting mission groups from the United States with children’s homes in Mexico, Back2Back is able to meet the physical needs of the children while serving them spiritually as well. Back2Back has grown to support nearly 400 children in seven separate children’s homes, 19 teens in the Joshua and Esther House programs and more.

Mark Schultz completed the Across America benefit bicycle ride benefiting the James Fund on July 6th at the Atlantic Ocean after beginning May 7th with his back tire in the Pacific Ocean. The ride also generated a documentary and new music to be featured in the Broken & Beautiful Expanded Edition CD/DVD releasing September 25th.

More information about the Across America ride can be found at www.markacrossamerica.org. For additional information on Mark Schultz, visit his YMZ artist page.