A retired man from Sarisbury Green hopes to encourage and inspire youths to take up activities with a sponsored bike ride.
Jim Dodd will cycle about 300km from Reims Cathedral in France to St John’s Church in Locks Heath to raise funds for youth projects in the Western Wards.
Jim Dodd
The 66-year-old of Holly Hill Lane, who dubs himself a ReBil – a Retired Bloke in Lycra – has recently launched the scheme and hopes other cyclists will take to the challenge in June to support local charity The Legacy Project, in which detached workers run the Genesis Centre and other youth initiatives.
Money raised would help provide for the detached workers to undertake targeted initiatives in Locks Heath to understand the current issues and to identify possible projects or initiatives to help ease antisocial behaviour.
“I’m a Brit and I believe you don’t just take, you’ve got to give back,” said Jim, who runs a group called Mainly 4 Men at St John’s Church.
“We don’t have that big a problem in our area. But I hope it will give them a focus and something to look at and aim for and make their life more positive.
“The bike ride will be good fun. I’m looking forward to it. If people make it fun then they’ll enjoy it and maybe they’ll go and do something like that for somebody else. And if the kids see we’re having fun they might get involved in things themselves and the problems might not be there.”
The cyclists will complete the course over a few days and end up at the Locks Heath church on June 22 to celebrate the journey.
For more details of the fundraiser email Jim at m4m.stjohnslocksheath@gmail.com.