RIDE AND STRIDE 2023 was held on Saturday 9th September 2023 ..and we’ve beaten our fundraising total!! Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride and Pedal & Drive jointly raised £214,470!!
THANK YOU to all our ride and striders, and the wonderful volunteers who made our BIG FUNDRAISING DAY so special! We hoped you had fun and didn’t get too hot!! (Next year’s date: 14th September!!)
We have judged this years photo competition – look further down this page.
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Background to Ride and Stride: Annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists and walkers are out making money for their local county Churches Trust.
The idea started in Suffolk, and is now held across England, with Suffolk leading the table of funds raised. The Ride and Stride is the main source of income to Suffolk Historic Churches Trust to enable it to make grants to churches and chapels of all denominations towards repair and restoration costs.
Ride and Stride is run entirely by volunteers and is inter-denominational, with participants sponsored for each place of worship visited between 9.00am and 5.00pm on Ride and Stride Day or with a donation, regardless of the number of churches visited.
The money raised by each cyclist or walker is shared equally between the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and the place of worship nominated by the participant.
As important as the participants are the many volunteers who give up the day to man the churches and chapels and sign in the cyclists and walkers as they arrive. Hundreds of places of worship are manned during the day and that takes quite a team of volunteers! It is a real community effort that is the lifeblood of the Trust.
TAKING PART
1A Suffolk has been split into a number of areas, each with its Ride and Stride Area Organiser, and each parish has its own Local Organiser, who will be able to supply the necessary forms. Your local church or chapel should have details of your own Area Organiser, who can put you in touch with the Local Organiser looking after your place of worship. If you need further assistance, please telephone or email the SHCT office – 01787 883884 shct@btconnect.com
….. or
1B Download the list of churches open and the sponsorship form by clicking on these links:
Churches open list 2023 https://shct.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SHCT-Church-List-2023.pdf
Sponsorship form 2023 https://shct.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Sponsor-form-2023.pdf
and follow the instructions in the form.
2 PLAN YOUR ROUTE – as many or as few churches and chapels as you like, wherever you like.
3 SIGN UP YOUR SPONSORS – JustGiving is the easiest way. NB: please ensure you say which place of worship 50 per cent of your money should go to.
4 ENJOY YOUR WALK OR CYCLE RIDE ON ‘RIDE AND STRIDE DAY’ – At manned churches they will sign your form and give you a warm welcome. At unattended churches you can log yourself.
5 AFTER THE RIDE – When you have collected your sponsorship money, please hand this over to your Ride and Stride Local Organiser or send your total sponsorship money direct to the Ride and Stride Treasurer David Gould, by cheque payable to SHCT, ensuring that you clearly identify the church or chapel you wish to benefit. David can also be contacted if you have any queries. His contact details are:
email: davidngould6@gmail.com
Telephone: 01473 253838
Address: 7 Karen Close, Ipswich, IP1 4LP
Thank you!!! You have helped beautiful Suffolk churches to be repaired, restored or improved for future generations.
JUSTGIVING: Click https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/suffolk-churches-ride-and-stride-2023 to enter the Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride 2023 page on the JustGiving website, where you can log into your account and donate. If you are unfamiliar with JustGiving, it is easy to set up your own online JustGiving page by selecting “Sign up” on the top right of the page and entering the details requested. Please ensure that the place of worship you wish to benefit is clearly specified.
Our churches and chapels need our help more than ever, so please support this vital annual event. Half of your sponsorship money will go to the Trust to be given in grants for church repairs, and half will go to the church of your choosing.
Message to Church and Area Organisers: We are now able to offer online banking for Ride and Stride payments. If you would like to use this facility please, when sending in the sponsorship money, include your church’s bank account details on the white remittance slip. Alternatively, phone the details to the treasurer on 01473 253838.
PHOTOS FROM SUFFOLK CHURCHES RIDE AND STRIDE 2023:
SUFFOLK CHURCHES PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETION 2023 www.shct.org.uk
Many people walking or cycling around Suffolk on Ride and Stride Day like to take photos so we have a competition. The lucky winners have been contacted.
The Winners 2023
The winner of the best set of photos taken in 2023 on Ride and Stride Day was Jessie Hopkins age 14 from Haverhill who has won a £75 book token. She took the winning set of three photos while walking from Haverhill to Kedington, with her grandmother, as part of the annual Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride fundraising day. They were raising money for Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and the Old Independent Church in Haverhill.
Jessie’s winning entry,
There was one further prize of £25 book token for an individual photo, (from a set entered) and that was won by Jean Macpherson from Felixstowe with her photo of the stained glass window at St Peter and St Paul church, in Old Felixstowe.
Here are more of the wonderful photos taken as part of the Ride and Stride Photo competition 2023:
Notes for 2024: Winners are announced on our website and named in Ride and Stride publicity.
Entry is free, but we ask that you are sponsored by family and friends on your journey. (We give grants to help preserve our beautiful church buildings.)
There will be a Sponsorship form on this website or you can fundraise via JustGiving.
The prize is a £75 voucher, for the best set of photos, and £25 voucher for the best individual photo taken from a full set. (They may be taken by the same person of course!)
It was easier in 2023 as we asked for a set of THREE photos rather than six. They should be taken on Ride and Stride Day and will be of:
- A church or chapel, or a church architectural detail such as a door or window.
- Your favourite photo. Whatever you wish to mark about your day.
- A selfie of you celebrating outside a church when you complete your journey. (Cheers, waves and excitement are encouraged!)
The submitted photos may be used for publicity for the Trust, encouraging others to support our work, and the photographer will be credited when any are used, but no fee is paid.
Please take your photos on Ride and Stride Day, then email (by the closing date, 20.9.2023) to shct@btconnect.com An independent judge will choose the winners. Good luck!
When sending us your set of photos we need to know where each one was taken and also:
Your name email: Phone number
Your address ……………and which church are you raising funds for.
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The Ride and Stride’s sister event, the Pedal and Drive for vintage and classic cars, is held on the same day. CLICK HERE for photo’s from this event.
Here are some more of the photos we’ve been sent from 2023 riders, striders and signers!