Bike ride challenge for Haverhill charity

A woman is hoping to raise funds for a local charity with a sponsored cycle ride.

Ann Merrigan will be taking part in the Essex Castle cycle race on July 25.

She will be braving the 25 mile route to raise money for Haverhill charity, REACH Community Projects which runs, amongst other things, the town’s foodbank.

Ann, who has worked at REACH for the last eight years, will be undertaking the challenge with her colleague, Henry Wilson, and her son, James Merrigan.

Ann said: “They’re both faster than me. I’m hoping that, by going along with them, I’ll ride faster myself.”

The bike ride is part of a campaign to raise funds for REACH in honour of the charity’s 10th anniversary, which it celebrated earlier this year.

While taking on various fund raising challenges, fund raisers will attempt to raise £10,000 to put towards the running of the charity and its projects.

“REACH is a charity,” said Ann. “It’s not supported by the government. It relies solely upon fund raising like this and individual, one-off donations to keep going.”

REACH supports hundreds of families who are struggling to make ends meet. Projects range from a free debt service, food, and furniture banks to supporting vulnerable people with homelessness and emotional issues.

When the chancellor, George Osborne, announced the 2015 summer budget on July 8, it was intended to help more vulnerable families.

Despite this, Ann noted there were still issues that made REACH’s work more important than ever.

She said: “No doubt about it, welfare cuts are having an impact. Families will still be struggling. Even working families can struggle to make ends meet. The bedroom tax still hammers people.”

Anyone wanting to contribute towards Ann’s fundraising efforts can do so online at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/annmerrigan1