{"id":2528,"date":"2022-08-25T18:48:10","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T18:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/brantford-man-cycles-580-km-to-raise-funds-for-the-salvation-army-food-bank\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T08:03:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T08:03:44","slug":"brantford-man-cycles-580-km-to-raise-funds-for-the-salvation-army-food-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/ontario\/2022\/08\/brantford-man-cycles-580-km-to-raise-funds-for-the-salvation-army-food-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"Brantford man cycles 580 km to raise funds for The Salvation Army Food Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dale Hall, 28, cycled 580 km over 3 days with a goal of raising $10,000 for The Salvation Army Food Bank, which serves Brantford and Brant County.<\/p>\n

He began his journey on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and rode to the fork of the Nith and Grand Rivers in Paris, Ontario, with his wife supporting his ride and meeting up with him and stops along the way.<\/p>\n

Dale works for Bellwether Family Wealth \/The Q-META Group. In addition to this fundraiser, the company has also supported The Salvation Army\u2019s Angel Tree program collecting toys for children at Christmas, has donated backpacks to the backpack program and collected food for the food bank through internal fundraisers.<\/p>\n

Dale also has a personal connection to The Salvation Army. \u201cWhen I was a child my dad and I volunteered with The Salvation Army\u2019s Christmas Toy Drive and my dad helped compile meal items for clients to take home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inspiration for the bike ride fundraiser came from a conversation Dale had with The Salvation Army Brantford Community and Family Services Coordinator Will Ratelband in August of 2020 about their food bank needs and desire to purchase a refrigerated van.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy answer to what our needs are is always related to food,\u201d said Will. \u201cWe are doing more food rescue from companies such as grocery stores and it would be a blessing to have a new refrigerated van. People are more aware of the importance of diverting food away from landfills and more companies are starting to donate food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will explains that needs in the region continue to increase. \u201cWe are in a cost-of-living crisis and more families are struggling with the cost of rent and many property owners are trying to evict tenants to increase the rent even more. We are seeing a lot of newcomers from other communities and from other countries, including students, as the school year is about to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will explains that most of their clients are also dealing with debt along with anxiety and depression. \u201cOften when people visit the food bank it\u2019s an opportunity for us to connect people to other resources they might need as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dale did his first bike ride fundraiser for The Salvation Army in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a 250 km ride in one day and raised about $3,300 for the food bank,\u201d said Dale. \u201cI went from Brantford to Oakville, north to Elora, then followed the Grand River back to Brantford. After that we decided to make it an annual event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dale explains that this year\u2019s event was a solo journey in order to make sure all the logistics were in place before they bring in more riders next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of positive messages and support on social media for our fundraiser and we look forward to next year\u2019s ride,\u201d said Dale<\/p>\n

Dale and his coworkers are still planning out all the details. He says it will continue to be a multi-day fundraiser, but it might be only two days and the number of kilometres per day might be adjusted. \u201cWe want the ride to be enjoyed by everyone. It will still be challenging but we want it to be attainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking on behalf of my team, we support The Salvation Army because it\u2019s a program that\u2019s accessible to everyone. They don\u2019t turn people away for any reason and it\u2019s just a great organization. If you go there and you need support, it will be given to you,\u201d said Dale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill is a notable example of the wonderful support that is offered by The Salvation Army. During the pandemic lockdowns he would make calls to see how people were doing. A lot of people were very isolated and lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will expressed how appreciative The Salvation Army is for the support from Dale and his team at Bellwether Family Wealth \/The Q-META Group. \u201cWe are grateful for their involvement and how they understand what we do for people in crisis. We thank you for our partnership and your continued support.\u201d<\/p>\n

To support the Bellwether Family Bike Ride visit https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/en\/pages\/the-bellwether-bike-ride-for-the-salvation-army-co\/<\/a> until August 31st<\/sup>, 2022.<\/p>\n

By: Caroline Franks<\/p>\n