RIDE + STRIDE for Churches - An update from the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust
The Trustees and the Executive Committee are extremely grateful to you for supporting the important work of the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust over the years, and especially to those of you who have participated in Ride and Stride. It is a principal source of money to enable us to make grants and interest free loans as and when they are needed.
Ride & Stride 2020 turned out to be a great success despite the challenges and uncertainties of the year. Income was up by over 20% and refunds to parishes increased to £9,524. Thank you to everyone who supported the event, whether you raised money or simply put up a poster to advertise the event. Ride and Stride will take place again this year, with whatever adaptations are needed to keep people safe whilst exploring our fabulous churches and raising funds.
Please join us in whatever way you can on SATURDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 2021. By then we all hope that restrictions will have been lifted, but even if some remain, the experience of 2020 has demonstrated that the event can go ahead successfully with suitable precautions.
Our newly refreshed website will be launched in the next month, with a new section dedicated to Ride and Stride to make it easier for people and groups to join in the event and to get sponsorship and it will also link directly to our Facebook page.
We look forward, during the summer, to being able to offer suggested routes for the day both on foot and on a bike as well as opportunities for individual participants to link up with other people taking part in their area. We also look forward to you sharing more of your pictures on the day, so we can celebrate the event and inspire more participants.
The core of the Ride and Stride has always been the church or parish group cycling or walking together for the day around their local churches. Whilst we try to attract a wider range of people to the event, we know it is important not to lose sight of our key, long-term supporters. Parish organisers are and always have been at the heart of this and it is vital for our contact list of them to be up to date. So, we have a particular request to parish clergy and church wardens - please confirm the contact details (especially email addresses) of your parish organisers for the event. Please send contact details to: The Rev’d Tim Thompson who is the Ride and Stride Treasurer at r-s-treasurer@camhct.uk
In the early Summer we shall be in touch again with fuller details, but meanwhile PLEASE NOTE THE DATE and start to think about what you can do to open your church, welcome visitors and encourage local people to get themselves sponsored and take part in the event.
For more information about the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust and Ride and Stride, please visit their website here.