looking for a cause

[Si-jsy]

Hi
I am goinging to ride an Enfield from Jersey, uk to dunedin, nz in 2011 & i thought it would be nice to do it for charity, love to sticker my bike!... please mail me with suggestions
Cheers!
Si :-)

[JHMM]

Why not try to get sponsors for the trip and put there names on the bike. Donate the money raised to charity.

[sophieamelia]

Hey, for my two pennies worth - there are lots of wonderful charities out there, and some not so good ones. I picked one to visit in 2007 when driving through - i wanted to find one small enough that if I could fit something in my car to donate it would actually make a difference. I picked the poorest country I was going to drive through and the smallest english speaking charity I could find (I had to go through a lot of Google pages) and then I raised money for them and visited them. It was so rewarding - a better charity I don't think I could find and because it was so small I got to stay and see how it really ran. It has inspired me enough to set up a rally to try and raise money for them, raise their profile, and generally its added something quite significant to my life. I support a small educational NGO - pretty much an english school but it teaches anything it can, including a lot of malarial prevention courses. After visiting and realising that they had no fundraisers, no head quarters and it was just some english bloke who had built a school, and was trying to run it with no time to try and fundraise, after meeting the kids I felt I had to try and do something. The charity does an amazing job and is often losing its staff because they can't pay their wages, etc, they just don't have enough money. Their website is out of date - they can't pay anyone to update it, and it isn't hugely inspiring - but if you happen to drive through Tajikistan (which is an awesome drive) then they would probably love to meet you. The kids love practicing their english, the teachers get to speak to natural english speakers, etc, etc. We are hoping to help them set up some ecotourism projects - they have some great ideas and contacts but never been able to do it. I think a lot of travellers would be interested if they knew that there were options (LP doesn't even mention the entire region). Ah, so after all my Waffle waffle waffle...I'd recommend you raise money for Sworde-Teppa in Tajikistan. Because not only is it great, but you get to visit and see where your money really is going, and you won't be paying any overhead costs - it literally all goes to the kids and community. The British chap who lives in the school would probably be exceedingly chuffed to chat to another english speaker as he doesn't get out much . p.s JustGiving website is generally the way to go for fundraising - it's pretty simple. Good luck with your planning! Sophie

[JediCoe]

After chatting with Charlie at SOS Adventures I decided to use the same charity for my trip as he does. SOS Childrens Villages help orphaned kids in many counties around the world and have been really grateful for the support and supportive of my efforts. I am currently in Marrakech and will be visiting their site in the area to find out a bit more about the work they do.

Check out my blog entry in a few days time to find out how it goes at www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/jedicoe

Personally I have found it adds a lot to the trip having a fundraiser of some kind. Justifies some of the selfishness of sodding off travelling and leaving wife and kids at home in the rain!

[Skorpion660]

Originally Posted by sophieamelia

Hey, for my two pennies worth - there are lots of wonderful charities out there, and some not so good ones. I picked one to visit in 2007 when driving through - Ah, so after all my Waffle waffle waffle...I'd recommend you raise money for Sworde-Teppa in Tajikistan. Because not only is it great, but you get to visit and see where your money really is going, and you won't be paying any overhead costs - it literally all goes to the kids and community. The British chap who lives in the school would probably be exceedingly chuffed to chat to another english speaker as he doesn't get out much . p.s JustGiving website is generally the way to go for fundraising - it's pretty simple. Good luck with your planning! Sophie

That is indeed a good charity Sophie, I remember following the reports on the MR the other year and I see you are now using Go Help to try and advance on what you did in 2007.

As Sophie has already said there are so many charities that are all very deserving and no way to decide which is the best one to choose, I think really it is down to a personal preference and you should let your heart lead your head on this. When I attempted the Mongolia Charity Rally last year on my RE Bullet I chose When You Wish Upon a Star. The other biker doing the same event went with Riders for Health. I'm sure as this thread evolves you will find everyone has their own charity that is close to their heart.

Si, if you would like any suggestions for prep'ing the bike I would be very happy to chat with you about the problems I encountered and what I would do different if doing the same trip again on a Bullet. Have a look at TEAM REMIT , you'll find a few photos on the gallery page.

[maja]

"Water Aid", every one needs clean water, not everyone has it. Ride safe.