Compassionate Trans-Australia Ride Seeks Industry Support
Perth, WA
A team of 27 amateur riders is preparing to cycle the full width of Australia to help release children from poverty, and bike industry members are being invited to assist their campaign.
Their 4,181km journey, from west to east, will raise money and awareness to help children around the world who live in poverty.
Ride for Compassion: Coast to Coast 2022 will start in Perth, WA on 17 September and finish in Newcastle, NSW, on 19 October.
Members of the public are being encouraged to support the riders by donating money at rideforcompassion.com, but bike industry members can also assist through product donations including energy gels, protein powders and other energy or nutritional supplements.
All the riders are paying their own way and supplement donations will help curb their costs, according to rider and Compassion Australia representative Rodney Olsen.
Compassion Australia, one of Australia’s largest not-for-profile organisations, is partnering the event and says it will provide vital assistance at a time when Covid has impacted severely on the world’s poor.
“This passion is needed now more than ever before,” according to Rodney, who is Compassion Australia’s Relationship Manager.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world’s poor particularly hard, with global poverty rates rising for the first time in decades.
“The team is aiming to raise $1 million for highly vulnerable children, including those affected by the pandemic, and see 150 children around the world sponsored through Compassion Australia.”
He said that includes children whose parents have left, died or are unable to provide for them, children exposed to exploitation and children with special needs.
Meet Two Riders
One of the participants, Nellie, says she is hoping to raise $20,000 and achieve 20 child sponsorships through her ride.
It is not the only way Nellie supports the work of Compassion Australia. Each year, she writes letters to more than 900 children living in poverty every year. The letters, penned on behalf of other sponsors, gives the children encouragement and reminding them they are loved.
“I am passionate about seeing children sponsored because I know that it changes their lives and makes a difference for the generations to come,” Nellie said.
“The sheer size of the ride exemplifies the participants’ phenomenal commitment to the cause.”
The team of riders also includes Ross, who was left blind in his right eye after surgery to remove a tumour from the frontal lobe of his brain.
Despite his health struggles – which also include some broken bones incurred during training for the ride – Ross says he “celebrates being alive every day” and is very much looking forward to the Ride for Compassion challenge.
“I am blessed with the physical capacity to ride a bike for long hours, so for me it is the perfect way to use my gift to give children an opportunity to live,” he says.
“Compassion Australia is that chance to intervene in a young life and give (them) the chance to become the best they can be.”
He says completing the ride will give him the confidence to overcome any challenge.
Rodney said the participants will need to ride around 1,000 kilometres a week during the ride, so training is intense.
“It can often be a real sacrifice to schedule training while still juggling family, work and other commitments,” he added.
“The sheer size of the ride exemplifies the participants’ phenomenal commitment to the cause.”
Nellie believes the ride will test her “mentally, physically and emotionally, and Rodney says this type of challenge allows the cyclists to achieve a huge personal goal at the same time as they make a difference for children facing extreme hardship.
In addition to the fundraiser, Ride for Compassion is an opportunity for communities across Australia to learn about the needs of children living in extreme poverty.
The riders will visit dozens of communities along the route to share information about the work done by Compassion and the children that benefit.
To learn more about these opportunities, contact Rodney Olsen on 0412 177 307.
Compassion Australia is a Christian child development charity with over 70 years’ experience and is part of a global network spanning more than 40 countries. It supports more than two million children living in poverty, by working with local partners who understand their communities’ needs.