House of Blessing aims to raise $35,000 through Ride for Refuge

By: Emily Stewart

As food insecurity continues to grow, Stratford House of Blessing’s Ride for Refuge fundraiser can help ensure their clients are able to get what they need.

The annual Ride for Refuge will be held on the morning of Oct. 3 and participants can either walk or cycle for the cause. Walkers and cyclists will meet at 382 Brittania St. and spend the morning on their route before enjoying a lunch provided by Taylor’s Delicatessen. The Salt Cabin will also provide an oxygen bar on site.

"You get (to) go out and have a nice ride or walk in the fall morning and then we'll come back together, we'll celebrate,” said Aaron Balzer, House of Blessing’s resource coordinator.

Those walking can either walk on a 2.5 kilometre or five kilometre route and cyclists can ride for either 10 kilometres or 20 kilometres.

Stratford House of Blessing aims to raise $35,000 to ensure its shelves are well-stocked for the Thanksgiving and Christmas period – the busiest time of year for the organization. The House of Blessing serves more than 1,600 clients a week and there are more and more people facing food insecurity.

“We're seeing people who have never had to use a food bank before come in. We're seeing more and more people who are employed needing to come in and use the food bank because they're not able to make ends meet,” said Balzer.

In addition to participating in the Ride for Refuge as a walker or cyclist, anyone looking to get involved can volunteer as a route marshal, donate to one of the participants and/or teams, or do their own walk or ride.

"Certainly, if people aren't able to actually show up on the day, they can do a walk or ride on their own time or they can donate to one of the teams or one of the walkers or riders. There's lots of ways to get involved,” Balzer said.

To learn more information, donate, or sign up for the Ride for Refuge online, visit https://en.rideforrefuge.org/location/stratford.