The Ride Side of Justice

It’s a crisp autumn morning. There’s a chilly breeze and a buzz of excitement in the air as children, bundled up in their windbreakers, gloves and helmets walk their bicycles to the starting line, mom, dad, (and maybe grandma), in tow.

It’s a day for quality time and community, but more importantly, it’s a way for families to show they care about people suffering from oppression and to declare that they’re in the fight to end it together.

Ride for Refuge, is a nation-wide, family-friendly cycling event supporting charities who provide refuge and hope for displaced, vulnerable, and exploited people everywhere. It all started back in 2004, when the Executive Director of a small missions organization decided to ride his bike to raise funds and awareness around it’s refugee ministry. Nearly 20 individuals decided to join him, and since then, Ride for Refuge has helped 500+ charities raise more than $12,000,000.

"I think the challenge for a lot of people who care deeply about an issue like human trafficking, is that they don’t know what to do, how to help out” says Mika Takamaki, Senior Development Associate at Blue Sea Philanthropy. "The Ride is literally thousands of people given the opportunity to make a significant contribution by riding their bike. I’m proud of the fact that people get an opportunity to make a difference.”

IJM Canada joined Ride for Refuge as a charity partner in 2012, giving our supporters a fun and easy way to protect the poor from violence that the whole family could be involved in.

"I’m quite proud about how we have small and large charities that work really well and that do really well. There’s some great stories.” says Brian Carney, Executive Director at Blue Sea Philanthropy. "We care deeply about these causes, and we really care about the charities finding their voices too.”

This year, justice seekers across the country (including our own staff members) will participate in the event.

Want to learn more about the Ride and its impact? Take a look at the articles below:

Too often, we’re trapped in our own worlds. We have friends we don’t see, neighbours we don’t talk to, and we know little of what goes on outside of our own bubbles. Ride for Refuge is a chance to change that. Read More…

I biked 25km with my team, "The Traffick Brakers”, in support of victims of human trafficking. While I raised over $1,000 for IJM’s work in the Dominican Republic to protect women and girls from sexual exploitation, I also used Ride for Refuge as an opportunity to tell my family and friends about the atrocity of human trafficking. Read More…

From saving children in Zambia to visiting survivors of sex trafficking in India, it’s clear that Karen’s passion for justice is insatiable. She shared her story with IJM Canada in the following interview. Read More…

Inspired? It’s not too late to get involved!