San Antonio, Texas, 55-year-old Doug Ruch was told by Doctors that he has 18 months to live due to stage 4 prostate cancer. Devastated, he thought about his life. "I really started thinking about things I could have done better. I can’t go back, but I can go forward and help as many people as possible before I go.”
He then decided to spend whatever time he has left helping people while seeing the country he loves. Doug launched his “Dying to Serve Tour” March 17th in Dallas and then moved on to Oklahoma. If you check his website you can see his past dates are all listed and some future dates as well. He's been on a west coast swing to start but is planning on making his way towards the center of the country with Billings MT and Rapid City SD coming up soon.
During his stops, he’s served meals to unhoused and elderly individuals, sorted donations at food pantries, and delivered food to homebound residents. He says the work has been physically demanding but energizing.
Doug is relying on philanthropic support to fund his journey, and his efforts have already inspired others to get involved. In San Francisco, four people joined him to help prepare meals for Project Open Hand, which supports people experiencing illness or isolation. He hopes more volunteers will join his mission in other cities, summing up his goal as, “Help people and inspire more people to help people.”