TrackMe Adventure Presents - René Heyde's 4,000km Solo Australia Ride - raising funds for Cholmondeley Children's Centre - August 2024
To Donate:
GiveALittle - https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/recycled-rene-rides-across-australia
This August 70-year-old René Heyde plans to bike 4,000 kilometres across Australia to raise money
for Cholmondeley Children’s Centre.
Cholmondeley Children’s Centre is a Canterbury charity which provides respite care for tamariki
aged 5-12 during times of whānau stress or crisis.
As a former Cholmondeley child and Commonwealth Games track cycling medallist, René wants to
give back to the centre and make a difference through the sport he loves.
“I’ve experienced what it’s like to have a broken family after four years in welfare homes as a child. I
know what it feels like for those kids and it rips my heart apart to think about what some of them
are going through,” he explained.
René will arrive in Perth at the end of July to begin his 4,000-kilometre self-supported bike-packing
journey to Melbourne.
“I’ve got no room to be nervous. I get up and start every ride every day and I let out a big ‘woohoo’
because I’m just so lucky and I love it,” he said.
Cholmondeley Children’s Centre General Manager Toni Tinirau said the centre will be cheering René
on every step of the way, “We can’t wait to follow René’s journey and see how he goes cycling
across Australia.”
“I just hope the tamariki who are staying with us see René’s journey and realise that they too can
achieve anything they dream of,” Tinirau said.
No stranger to bike-packing trips, in 2023 René biked 1,500 kilometres from Marlborough Sounds to
Milford Sound to raise money for Foster Hope. This March he rode 2,000 kilometres from Cape
Reinga to Christchurch to prepare for his Australia trip.
René has set up a Givealittle page with all funds raised being donated directly to Cholmondeley
Children’s Centre and will also be posting live updates throughout his journey on his Facebook and Instagram pages.
To get in touch with René, see the below links for his social media accounts.
Facebook - Recycled Rene https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089867135024
Instagram - @recycled.rene https://www.instagram.com/recycled.rene/
To follow René's ride use the following links:
https://trackme.kiwi/event/unlistedview/2570/982332
https://mytrack.co.nz/device/300434037460300.html
About Cholmondeley Children's Centre
Cholmondeley Children’s Centre provides free respite care for tamariki aged 5-12 in the Canterbury region, and has been providing this service since 1925.
Tamariki stay at the centre in times of whānau stress or crisis such as bereavement, a family member living with a physical or mental illness, domestic violence, or financial hardship.
Cholmondeley also offers community outreach support through its Awhi Team, made up of Social Workers, Youth Workers and Whānau Ora Navigators. The Awhi Team walks alongside whānau in their own homes to support them on their journeys through life’s issues.
In the 99 years Cholmondeley Children’s Centre has been operating, it has supported more than 30,000 tamariki across the Canterbury community.
Cholmondeley costs close to $3,000,000 to run each year and just 20% of this is met by the Government. The remaining 80% is made up of fundraising through trusts and grants, events, and generous community donations.
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