Ride for Refuge benefits plethora of charities
Across Canada and into the United States cyclists took to the streets this fall to raise money for dozens of charities.
In Waterloo, Ontario, Elevation Church pastor Steve Tulloch led one of two teams participating in the ninth annual Ride for Refuge. The funds they raised will be directed to a variety of causes, including The Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support, a local interim housing project called Welcome Home, and a couple who works with refugees and several church initiatives.
"I am also personally embedded in the personal lives of several refugee families," Tulloch said before the ride, "one of whom is facing deportation. Sometimes when I'm riding I take pictures of the refugee kids I know and tape them to my legs, so when I'm looking down I see their faces looking up at me."
Ride for Refuge took place in about 20 locations across Canada, and five in the United States, and was held on several dates this fall. Cyclists can choose from three different route-lengths, usually between 10 and 50 kilometres long.
Ride for Refuge's unique fundraising model also lets participants choose, from a list of more than 150 partners, which charity they want to receive the funds they raise.This year's goal was to see 5,000 riders raise $1.4 million for 156 partners.
Ride for Refuge executive director Brian Carney says the event, which started as Ride for Refugees, has taken a wider focus since 2010 when it changed its name "to encompass a wider highway of need and cause."
The Ride Partners Grant (RPG) program launched in 2007. Partners retain 70 per cent of the funds raised in their name. The rest goes to Ride for Refuge's umbrella organization, Blue Sea Philanthropy, to cover costs of the ride, and other sister projects like Coldest Night of the Year, a charity walk to raise money for the hungry, homeless and hurting.
"My passion is to see our partners' ministries grow," Carney says. "Fundraising is generally a curse for most organizations. Imagine what would happen if 156 organizations went out and created their own event," he adds, citing the waste of time and resources that might come as a result.
"There are a lot of little groups, who simply don't have the capacity to hold this kind of event. The ride gives them a way to have a national event without having to literally lay down a dime, or take on any risk."
Ratanak is a Christian charity that helps rescue girls and women in Cambodia from sexual slavery through education, intervention, medical assistance and rehabilitation homes.
Paul Dylla chairs Ratanak's Ride for Refuge campaign. The decision to partner with Blue Sea Philanthropy is one they review each year, both thoughtfully and prayerfully.
"The issue of how awful life can be for a child who's enslaved in the sex trade resonates with a lot of people," Dylla says, "but it can also seem too big for them to do anything about it. Participating in the ride allows them to get involved and to make a tangible difference."
Ratanak has more than 200 Ride for Refuge riders this year in 38 different teams across the country, including Vancouver, Banff, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Ottawa. Without the larger Ride umbrella, it's likely the charity would be only able to hold the event in one or two cities, he says. Planning and organizing the event themselves would also take away resources and focus from their on-the-ground projects.
"It's not about us," he adds, "it's about children who are abused and enslaved in a rotten situation, and through God providing them opportunities to find restoration and rehabilitation. Ride for Refuge gives us the ability to make a difference in so many people's lives which we wouldn't be able to reach without it."
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