Feb 18 2025 57 mins
Please be aware that this conversation contains references to sexual abuse and suicide.
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Where in your life can you create the conditions for tenderness?
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In 1989, Richard Propes left downtown Indianapolis in his wheelchair with $20 in his pocket, a backpack on his wheelchair, and a handful of press releases announcing his "Tenderness Tour." A paraplegic/double amputee born with spina bifida, Propes traveled for 41 days and over 1,000 miles alone around Indiana in an effort to look for good in the world after a life that had been defined by disability, sexual abuse, and the recent suicide of his wife and death of his newborn daughter.
He returned from that successful journey determined to break his own cycles of abuse and to do what he could do to make the world a better and safer place for everyone. 35 years later, Propes has traveled over 6,000 miles by wheelchair, raised over $1 million for charitable organizations worldwide, and is living what he calls his "good life." Propes is the founder of the Race Away From Domestic Violence, a 5k event in Indianapolis raising funds for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and is the author of The Hallelujah Life. Propes graduated summa cum laude from Martin University and is a graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary. He's the founder of TheIndependentCritic.com and is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association with his reviews carried by Rotten Tomatoes.
Richard currently serves as the director of provider services for the Bureau of Disabilities Services (state of Indiana) and has produced a wide variety of fundraising events including poetry readings, concerts, the benefit CD "Give a Girl a Chance," the IndyFringe show "Laughing Sober," and served as executive producer of comic Rick Garrett's comedy DVD "Straight Outta Cowan." Richard has received numerous honors for his violence prevention work and disability advocacy including Indiana Minority Business Magazine's "Champions of Diversity" Award, Indiana's Sagamore of the Wabash, Prevent Child Abuse America's highest honor the Donna J. Stone Award, and the Jefferson Award. Academy Award-qualifying Heartland International Film Festival and Indy Shorts both present the Richard D. Propes Social Impact Award annually to filmmakers whose works exemplify a dedication to social impact.
Having beaten cancer twice in the past year, Richard just completed a 160-mile wheelchair ride in September 2024 that raised $115,000 and eliminated nearly $17 million in medical debt for hoosiers.
Today, Abbie and Richard discuss the creation and evolution of the Tenderness Tour, un-defining and redefining love, and learning to embrace the beautiful complexity that is interdependence.
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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
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Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
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