Last Tuesday, the 27th of March, 40 men and women started riding more than 700 kilometres from Albany to Perth, raising money to help fund the excellent work that Youth Focus does. They arrived back in Perth on Saturday morning.
It was the fifth annual Ride for Youth and this year alone the event has raised over $500 000. When all the money is in for the ride the 2007 total is expected to be around $550 000.
Did you know that here in Australia, around 600 more people commit suicide each year than are killed in car accidents? We hear a lot about the tragic loss of life on our roads, and so we should, but we don’t often hear about the tragic loss of life through people who simply decide that they no longer wish to keep living.
Youth Focus is one organisation trying to do something to turn these horrific figures around. Youth Focus is a West Australian, non-profit community based organisation working with young people who are showing early signs associated with suicide, depression and self-harm. Youth Focus can also provide services to their families. Youth Focus values young lives by ensuring the emotional well-being of young people, developing their self worth and offering them the opportunity to reach their full potential. The Youth and Family Services Team comprises of professionally qualified youth and family counsellors with extensive experience working in this specialised area.
It’s not too late to support the riders. You can click here if you’d like to donate.
Over the past few weeks I’ve kept up to date with training and preparations for the ride by chatting to a couple of the riders during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM.
I talked to James Sutherland, who has been on each of the five rides so far, and Sue Johnston, who was a rider for the first time this year. We had our final chat this morning and it was very encouraging to hear about how well the event went. Despite some tough conditions, there were no accidents and the team worked together very well.
You can listen to our final conversation by clicking here.
I’m wondering whether instead of interviewing the riders for next year’s event, I might even join them.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Cycling – Suicide – Radio
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