Bikers set off on the second annual Ride for Refuge in Prince Albert on Saturday morning. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Biking for mental health

Ride for Refuge raises nearly $50K for mental health services in Prince Albert

Sep 23, 2023 | 2:17 PM

People of all ages gathered at the Alfred Jenkins Fieldhouse in Prince Albert on Saturday morning to participate in the annual Ride for Refuge fundraiser.

Participants had the option to either walk 2.5km or 5km, or to ride their bikes in a 10km loop or bike the entirety of the Rotary Trial, which is 22.6km around the city.

For the second straight year, Catholic Family Services (CFS) were putting on the event where event director Margaret Duncombe said it’s great to see the community come and support mental health at great local cause in Prince Albert.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “We have over 110 bikers and walkers registered with 30 volunteers. We are also very close to hitting our goal of $50,000.”

At the time of this article, CFS is nearly $1,000 away from their goal as they sit at $48,992.

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All money raised from the event will go back into supporting mental health programs and services in the city.

“Counselling is a big piece, we also have what we call ‘Life Improvement Programs’,” said Louise Zurowski, CFS Executive Director. “We run a number of either weekend workshops, six-week programs, eight-week programs for everything from anger management to domestic violence.”

She continued by adding that Catholic Family Services has been wanting to have an event like this to spread the knowledge of mental health in the city.

“It’s all about mental health and it’s all about supporting mental health,” Zurowski said. “We’ve been trying to create awareness for mental health in our community and the need for good mental health services for a long time, so to see the community get behind it and support it is huge for us. We’ve been looking for a signature event for a long time, something that would both be family orientated and involve activity because that’s such an important piece to mental health, and to also support Catholic Family Services at the same time.”

Ride for Refuge is an annual event that partners with 175+ independent charities that help people seeking hope, safety, and freedom. The event is held across the country with the goal raising a total of $1.5 million in 2023.

For more information about Ride for Refuge Prince Albert and Catholic Family services, click here.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com