Bendigo Be More Bikers

Ride 140 kms for compassion!

Three year 10 students from Bendigo Catholic College,  Joshua Coleman, Xavier Guthrie and Joel Peters (the Bendigo Be More Bikers), have set themselves the personal challenge to Be More by riding their bikes 140 kms from Bendigo to Kerang starting on the 29th of September.

With organisational and publicity assistance from fellow student Mel Beames and support from the entire Bendigo Catholic College community, and the wider community, the Bendigo Be More Bikers hope to raise awareness and funds for Caritas Australia. 

Sponsor the Bendigo Be More Bikers, by selecting ‘Donate’ on their profile page, as they ride in solidarity with people around the world who lack access to basic necessities and for whom a bicycle is the only means of transport to reach distant places or to carry food and other materials.

Be Green… ride a bike     

“I was inspired to take up a ‘Be More’ challenge after attending a Caritas workshop at the Sandhurst Diocesan Youth Festival & the winter sleep out which was our schools action for the Be More Weekend. There I learnt that most developing countries have poor access to sanitation or clean drinking water. This ride will represent some of the distances that many people have to travel in order to obtain these things. I aspire to ride this 140km stretch to raise awareness of their lack of basic necessities, their living conditions and the distances they must walk just to survive.” Josh

Be giving… of time and energy

“I was inspired to take up the ‘Be More’ personal challenge when I realised that if you have a fridge to put your food in, a bed to sleep in, a cupboard for your clothes, then you are richer than 75% of the people in the world. This is my personal ‘Be More’ challenge in response to the statement ‘Aspire not to have more, but to be more’.” Xavier

Be in Solidarity… Ride Caritas Ks - kilometres for compassion

“I was inspired firstly because I thought the ride would be a great personal challenge, but I ended up thinking how something like this ride could benefit others. A lot of empathy had risen in me due to thinking about the circumstances of others lives, like having to walk for hours at a time just for simple things that we get from a tap in our sink.” Joel

Be a Voice… raise awareness by getting sponsorship & publicity

---

Be More by setting yourself the Caritas K’s Challenge!

In Australia we can choose to walk, run, swim and cycle. In countries where Caritas works, people walk, run, swim and cycle because they must - travelling many kilometres a day. There have no choice.

Participating in Caritas K’s is an invitation for you to walk in someone else’s shoes and act in solidarity, while raising money to support Caritas Australia’s work with vulnerable communities around the world. Caritas K’s is a practical expression of solidarity with those throughout our world who must:
walk... to collect water, to visit the health clinic, to go to market for food, or to go to school; 
swim... to safety from floods, to catch food;
cycle... to the hospital, to school;
run... from disasters to survive, to get help.

Read these moving accounts of people living in marginalised communities who have had to:
• run to survive
• walk for water
• cycle to market
• swim their way to a better life

Have you been inspired by the Bendigo Be More Bikers to walk, run, swim or ride in solidarity with marginalised communities?

To find out how you and/or your school/parish community can get involved contact us on 1800bemore or bemore@caritas.org.au