It’s hard to think of anyone who has not been impacted in some way as a result of the challenges we have faced and will continue to face in 2020 as a result of the global pandemic. The disruption to our fundraising at Hands was swift and brutal and the impact of this will last long into the future, even after the international borders open, whenever that might be.
It was so important then that we responded with an opportunity for our community to engage because we know that is what you love to do. The Ride to Provide Virtual Challenge was a new initiative for us and based on the amazing success it will be back for next year and beyond. What we saw was the participation from many of our long term supporters but the model allowed many new people looking to do something for themselves whilst also benefiting others to take part. We saw them in the zoom room listening to our amazing guests, we saw them riding their bikes on the road, they were out running, walking all in the spirit of covering 800kms over the month of June. Many did it as part of a team, a family group, with their mates or took the challenge up themselves.
Collectively our group rode, walked, or ran over 100,000km and raised just shy of $300,000 all in the month of June. With the challenge that we face to raise the money we need to support the children and communities of Thailand this was not only an amazing amount of money but it also confirmed for us at Hands we have a deeply connected and passionate community of supporters and for that we are eternally grateful.