"Buy a Mile, Teach a Child."

That's the campaign slogan of a project to which two recent college graduates have devoted their summer.

Kristen DeMint, an alumna of Thousand Oaks High School and 2009 graduate of Colorado State University, has embarked on a cross-country biking trip with a friend to raise money for Invisible Children, a group dedicated to saving child soldiers in Africa and rebuilding the schools in the areas ravaged by war.

"It's a part of Invisible Children that helps rebuild schools in the areas that have been destroyed," DeMint said. "We wanted to make money for the organization, and we thought, 'Why not bike across the country?'"

When DeMint was about 13, she saw a documentary with her youth group at United Methodist Church in Thousand Oaks. The film told the story of the thousands of child soldiers abducted to fight in a rebel army in Uganda. Children as young as 9 were shown carrying guns and talking about horrific things they were forced to do.

Members of her youth group pooled their money and sent $150 to the cause.

"It really touched me," DeMint said. "We all wanted to do something to help, so we ended up putting a few dollars in that night. There were only about 15 of us. I remember wishing that it was more organized, that we could have done more."

Years later, as a student at CSU, DeMint saw the same film, which was produced by the nonprofit dedicated to the cause, Invisible Children. She joined a group at CSU that was made up of people wanting to help the "invisible children."

DeMint met Mark Kowalik in the group, and the two became friends. Together they decided to bike across the country for the cause, collecting pledges for $3 per mile of the 4,300-mile trek. Students, friends and family have donated more than $6,000 so far.

Of the $13,000 they hope to raise, $10,000 will go to Invisible Children, some of it specifically for the Schools for Schools program, a sector of the nonprofit focused on rebuilding dilapidated schools. The remaining $3,000 is earmarked for expenses along the way, like supplies, food and campsite fees.

When asked about the decision to bike, DeMint laughs. Although Kowalik was an avid biker at CSU, competing on the cycling and mountain biking teams, DeMint bought a bike only a few months ago.

"Mark asked me if doing a biking (fundraiser) would be something I'd be interested in," DeMint said. "I said, 'Why not?'"

DeMint has spent the last few months training on a road bike and before that trained indoors in cycling classes.

Last week, the two friends, both 22, embarked on the crosscountry bike ride, which they estimate will take about 12 weeks. The two are hoping to ride about 65 miles a day, five days a week. They left last Saturday from Astoria, Ore., and plan to end their trip in Yorktown, Va.

Neither of the recent college graduates is sure about what comes next. DeMint hopes to spend a couple of months in Argentina with a friend and then move to Lake Tahoe to pursue a career with her degree in restaurant and resort management. Kowalik will look for an internship in Chicago before eventually moving to a foreign country.

"We don't really know," DeMint said. "Our main goal now is just to make it across the country. We really want to do this."

For more information, visit www.invisiblechildren.com, or visit DeMint and Kowalik's site to donate or read their blogs at www.biking4invisiblechildren.com.