ANNUAL SPONSORED
RIDE AND STRIDE
Many thanks to all who were involved in last year’s sponsored Ride and Stride. The 2009 Riders and Striders were given £48,000 by their sponsors for visiting town and country parish churches in Wiltshire and the Cathedral on the second Saturday in September. The warm dry weather encouraged nearly 400 to participate, from 5 year olds to several octogenarians, and those whose efforts were the best were congratulated by the Lord Lieutenant at the prize-giving evening in November. Half the money raised was returned to the parishes to be put towards the costs of their own maintenance projects, and £30,000 which includes the reclaimed tax of £9,000 from the gift aid scheme goes to the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust. This will be given over the next year to parishes applying for grants to help with the cost of repairs to their church building.
“Lord Brooke Cup for the Best All Round Parish”
This year’s Ride and Stride takes place on Saturday 11 September 2010 and, as usual, there will be prizes for those visiting most churches and for raising the most money, but this year for the first time there is a cup to be won kindly donated by Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, president of the Friends of Wiltshire Churches. The Cup will be awarded to the parish with the best score calculated by multiplying the number of participants by the amount raised. So the more riders and striders you can get to join in the better chance you have of winning the Cup and the special award of £500 for your parish repairs and maintenance.
Participants should look for supporters who will sponsor them for each church visited. Anyone may take part, whether a church member or not. Most will be riding bikes – but others may be striding or pony trekking. Should you be in a country parish, you might like to work out a walking route between churches in a local area using footpaths and bridleways which might encourage more people to join in.
The prizes for the best achievements will be given at an awards ceremony in Devizes on Friday 19 November to which the winners are invited to bring family and friends and their parish organiser.
Further details and sponsor forms are available from your parish organiser in June or you can contact either of the cycle ride administrators:
SOUTH WILTS AREA (The Archdeaconries of Sarum and Wilts)
Mr Richard Clarke
4 Peppercorn Orchard
Great Hinton
TROWBRIDGE
BA14 6DB
clarke@peppercorn.fslife.co.uk
Tel: 01380 870635
NORTH WILTS AREA (The Archdeaconry of Malmesbury)
Mr Andy Saunders
10 Shropshire Close
Shaw
SWINDON
SN5 5SU
Tel: 07736 087 655
