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Charities “doing it for themselves”
Friday 23rd July 2008
A host of charities will be taking part in the 2008 Durham Big Ride – raising money for their particular cause and getting fit at the same time.
"We had a great number of people last year using the event to raise money for their favourite charity and so we thought this year we would encourage more people to get involved." Said Colin Wilkes from the organisers."We have national, big name charities such as Water Aid and Diabetes UK as well as locals like Stray Action for Dogs and County Durham Foundation, all getting involved and making Durham Big Ride a great event for everyone."
Dave Whiteley, from Northumbrian water: "WaterAid is our adopted charity and works in 17 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific region to provide communities with clean, safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene education.
"It's unbelievable that in the twenty first century more than one billion people still don't have access to clean drinking water, which is a fundamental human right, and more than two and a half billion people don't have anywhere safe to go to the toilet. It costs just £15 to save a life, so please consider cycling on behalf of WaterAid."
Linda Carr, Community Fundraiser at Rainbow Trust,We are looking for people of all levels of physical fitness to take part in this bike ride. If you want a good family day out and to raise money for a very worthwhile and local charity, I would very much like to hear from you!If you're took part in last year's event and are hoping to get involved while raising money for a very worthwhile charity; please call Linda Carr on at Rainbow Trust on 0191 386 4400
Kate Brown, County Durham Foundation:County Durham Foundation is an independent grant-making charity set up by local people, for local people. Our purpose is to support community-based projects that make a real difference to the quality of life for local people who are disadvantaged. We act as a vehicle for individuals, families and companies who want to put something back into their local community.
Christine Kipling, a volunteer at Deerness kennels:Local dog rescue Stray action for Dogs take care of all strays and abandoned dogs across County Durham. They are based at Deerness Kennels in Durham City and are always looking for way to give dogs a better life. Volunteers are always being sought to foster dogs or adopt them on a full time basis.
Ann Row, fundraising manager for Diabetes UK: Diabetes UK is the largest organisation in the UK working for people with diabetes. With the help of the Durham Big Ride we will continue to fund research into better treatments and the search for a cure.
Durham Big Ride is a three ride event that will take place on Sunday 21 September starting and finishing at County hall Durham City. For more information visit: www.durhambigride.co.ukOr call 01913018860