Lead Lay Chaplain Jamie Agius is set to cycle around all 25 schools in the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee.
Jamie and friend Mark Newing will take on the 188-mile, mostly uphill journey through Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Stockport and the High Peak from February 16th to the 18th.
There will be two outdoor overnight stops for the pair during ‘Tour de St Ralph’, one in woods near Ashbourne and one in a bothy in the hills above Glossop.
The plan is to stop at each school in the St Ralph Sherwin Trust, say a prayer with pupils and take a photo.
All money raised through sponsorship will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee, which brings together 15 leading UK aid charities which are experts in humanitarian aid and specialise in different areas of disaster response.
Jamie said: “The idea came about because the situation in Afghanistan is so desperate, I felt like I had to do something. Our Trust motto, the words of St Ralph Sherwin, is, ‘Today, not tomorrow’. It’s about taking action when it’s needed, not putting it off; this felt like such a time. I love cycling and I thought it would be quite a symbolic route to get around all of the Trust schools. The most I’ve cycled before is 100 miles in a day but that was mostly off-road. For this journey we will be mostly sticking to side roads but there will be about 15,000ft of hills to climb.
“We chose the Disasters Emergency Committee because it is a consortium of charities and has the most effective impact in terms of getting support to the people who need it. As a Trust which educates and nurtures children and young people, we can only hope that the children and young people of Afghanistan get the help they so desperately need. “
You can sponsor Jamie via his JustGiving page
