Tag: chaity

Cycling World Champs: Charity partner calls for volunteers 

  • Volunteers and fundraisers across Scotland prepare to help World Bicycle Relief deliver 1 million bikes to communities in need around the world 
  • More cycling-loving volunteers needed to bring World Bicycle Relief events to life in key Championship venues including Glasgow, Glentress, and Fort William 

Ahead of the first-ever UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland in August, World Bicycle Relief, the official Global Charity Partner of the 2023 event, is preparing to announce an ambitious programme of events and activities created to unite communities across Scotland to celebrate the power of the bike. 

But first, World Bicycle Relief is calling on audacious Scots to donate their time at the Cycling World Championships. 

Cycling fans who sign up as volunteers will join World Bicycle Relief’s passionate team to celebrate the sport’s greatest athletes at this world-first event – all while fundraising to help to provide 1 million bicycles to transform the lives of thousands of families and communities around the world. 

World Bicycle Relief’s volunteers will get involved in exciting activations alongside iconic World Bicycle Relief partners; lead community bike rides; support school and club activities; and help deliver inspiring fundraising activities. All with the goal of raising money to provide bikes and train mechanics. 

In Glasgow, the Glasgow Green BMX hub will be home to a VR experience where volunteers will help the public can ride a Buffalo Bike and see exactly what the bike’s recipient would.

In George Square, volunteers will support a milk churn challenge, where participants will try and shift full milk churns with and without the help of a Buffalo Bike – a great way of demonstrating how a bike can boost physical capabilities and help people transport goods.

In event villages around Scotland volunteers will also help sell merchandise and man donation points, as well as host competitions and challenges for the public.  

World Bicycle Relief works with communities to provide Buffalo Bicycles –  sturdy bikes specially designed to carry heavy loads and handle rugged terrain –  to people in need who live in rural, unpaved areas. These bikes can transform lives by helping schoolchildren and adults access education, employment, and healthcare.   

Mark Kiehlmann, an Agile Project Manager based in Glasgow, has volunteered for World Bicycle Relief since 2020 and is looking forward to leading the charity’s Cycling World Championships mountain biking volunteer team alongside his wife and three children: 

“I’ve witnessed first-hand the transformation that bicycles can bring to children, women and men in countries like Kenya where I once worked. Children could shorten the time taken to get to school by cycling, allowing them to travel more safely and quickly while providing more time for essential chores like collecting firewood or water. While women I met, like Irene, could transport more of the food she grew easily, sell it fresh and get home safely by bicycle.

“The Cycling World Championships is going to be an incredible opportunity to share World Bicycle Relief’s life-changing message that anyone, anywhere in the world should have the opportunity to pursue their goals without feeling stuck or unsafe due to distance or lack of transportation.

“I can’t wait to get involved in the biggest cycling event ever where the world’s greatest riders will make history in Scotland and show the world the power of the bike – all while making a difference to communities around the world!”

International charity Street Child launches ‘Education is Her Right’

International charity Street Child has launched a campaign called ‘Education Is Her Right’ which aims to fund primary school education for girls in Afghanistan.

The country faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and the gains made over the past two decades, particularly in advancing women’s rights, are now in jeopardy.

The children’s charity Street Child’s has made an unwavering commitment to continue working with local organisations in Afghanistan despite the monumental challenges.

The charity’s campaign will highlight that just £100 will fund a girl’s primary education for a whole year – that’s just 27p per day!

The reduction of international development assistance, which once played a pivotal role in maintaining public health and education systems, has dealt a severe blow to the ability to implement vital programmes. T

he economic downturn, skyrocketing hunger, malnutrition, and inflation triggered by global commodity shocks have further compounded the challenges faced by the Afghan people.

In July, as part of Street Child’s ‘Education is Her Right’ campaign, Street Child is delighted to announce they have an appeal on BBC Radio 4 in which will highlight the need for funding to support the charity’s work in girls’ primary education in Afghanistan. 

The appeal will be presented by Christina Lamb OBE, a British journalist and bestselling author of books such as ‘I am Malala’, ‘Farewell Kabul’, and ‘Our Bodies, Their Battlefield; What War Does to Women’. The funds raised will be channelled to our local Afghan partners who are on the ground and working hard to use every pound as effectively as possible to deliver education for young boys and girls. 

Outside of the radio appeal, Street Child’s campaign showcases its wider mission to operate in the hardest to reach areas of the world, educating girls across 25 countries. The charity’s dedicated local partners in Afghanistan are striving relentlessly to improve the lives of vulnerable communities – driven by a shared mission to provide education, protection, and livelihood support to children, women, and families caught in the grips of the longstanding conflict and recurrent natural disasters. 

Tom Dannatt, CEO and Founder of Street Child, said: “Our view, is that if you can read, write, add up and take away you have a chance in this world. If you can’t do those things, then you really don’t.

However, feeding minds is tough to think about if you haven’t put food in your mouth and you’re hungry, so every dimension of an Afghan child is under threat.

“We’re really calling on the international community, in all its manifestations to play its part in dramatically increasing quantities of aid, and for members of the public to consider how they can help. Charities like Street Child are on the ground in Afghanistan with Afghan staff and donations can and do make a difference.

“Keeping children and their families safe is the centre pillar of Street Child’s work: all children have a right to be safe and safeguarded from risks, especially those which impact their ability to attend school.”

For further information: https://street-child.org/

Towergate launches search for local teens with community-changing ideas for £20,000 prize

Teens from across Scotland with bright ideas for their communities are being encouraged to apply  for a new £20,000 Bright Future Prize – to help them change the world around them for the better.  

The Bright Future Prize is an initiative from Ardonagh Community Trust (ACT), the charity arm of the parent company that  owns local insurance firm Towergate.  

Stephen Boyd, Regional Managing Director, explained: “Having joined the ACT board in 2021 as a  representative, I’m delighted to showcase this new venture supporting young people and their  aspirations for the good of the community. 

“The charity is looking for 15-19-year olds who are the next generation of community leaders,  charity fundraisers, blue-sky thinkers or social activists. The Bright Future Prize is open to young  people across the UK and Ireland who are passionate about, and actively working to make a  difference in a community of their choice.  

“Young people see the world differently, and their innovative ideas can help impact positive change  for the future. It’s this ingenuity that ACT wants to support, opening up opportunities for young  people who are already making positive waves in their communities. 

“You could have a great idea for your own social enterprise supporting a charitable cause, you might  have a community project in mind, maybe you want to raise money for a specific charity – or maybe  you want to learn more and teach more about making a difference”. 

Applications for the Bright Future Prize are now open until 21 May. There are small grants alongside the £20,000 main prize available for the best ideas, and winners will get support to put them into  motion.  

Find out more and make your application at:

https://www.ardonaghtrust.org/bright-future-prize