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 |  | YOU ARE HERE: Ride for Refugees / Canada / Facts / History of the RIDE |
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How a swim in the English Channel (by someone else) sparked it all. 2004 The RIDE began in early fall 2004 when International Teams Canada's new Director of Development heard about a retired American pilot, George Brunstad, who swam the English Channel in his early 70s to raise money for children in Haiti. His efforts netted $11,000 British pounds and grabbed the attention of a rookie fundraiser who wondered if International Teams Canada could, or should, introduce a similar "challenge event" into their organizational calendar. "Our strategy was simple. We thought if we shoved Neil out the door wearing spandex we'd get some sympathy money in support of his good looks and sweaty effort. What we didn't anticipate was that people didn't want to just give money, they wanted to ride for refugees themselves... they wanted their sweat to matter." - Brian Carney So ITCA changed gears (as it were), and made it possible for people to sign themselves up to ride 25 km on the last leg of the 100 km that Neil and his team rode. In that inaugural RIDE, 25 riders joined the fledgling event and helped raise $25,000. It was perhaps not as much as the retired senior citizen swimming the English Channel, but it was enough to encourage ITCA to try it again - and they did.  2005 + 2006 The second year of the RIDE, 87 riders and approximately 30 volunteers joined the event at two host locations - Muskoka and Waterloo. Over $65,000 was raised. What was most surprising and encouraging was the number of participants and volunteers who appeared to come from outside the typical church circles with which ITCA is associated. It was encouraging to see that many other people agreed that the cause of refugees is an important social justice issue. In 2006, the RIDE had a breakout year, with over 200 riders and volunteers joining the event on October 14th just outside Waterloo. Over $85,000 was raised on a day when an early winter snowstorm threatened to thwart the efforts of 150 cyclists who had registered to ride collectively over 8000 km on that day. Key to this third year increase in riders and fundraising success was the introduction of a new online event-management system that permitted both individual and team registrations. Teams were the new theme of the Ride for Refugees, and their energy and commitment helped steer the RIDE to yet another record fundraising total. 2007 In 2007, the RIDE Partner Grant Program (RPG) was born. The RPG supplies churches with the financial resources to serve refugees locally as well as internationally. The concept of "giving back" through the RPG inspired and motivated over 500 riders and 66 different teams. Brantford and Hamilton came aboard as new RIDE locations. Notable westerly winds and a temperature of 2 degrees made the RIDE seem a little longer in Waterloo and Hamilton, but together the riders raised $268,000 in support of 30+ separate refugee ministries via the new RIDE Partner Grant Program. 2008 The 2008 Ride for Refugees was an overwhelming success, tripling in size to span ten cities across Canada. New locations onboard were Fraser Lake (BC), Moosomin (SK), Windsor (ON), Fort Erie (ON), Oakville (ON), Muskoka (ON), Montreal (PQ), and Halifax (NS). 1605 riders participated with 192 teams raising over $600,000 through the generous donations of 10,000 sponsors. 69 different churches and refugee organizations benefited from the RIDE Partner Grant Program to serve and support refugees worldwide: over $270,000 was allocated to RPG-approved organizations. Also new in 2008 was the RIDE's slow trickle into the USA, with teams from the States riding alongside Canadian teams in Windsor, Fort Erie and Hamilton. | |||||||||
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