Bike for Breakfast putting the pedal down for final stretch of fundraising

With a week and a half to go until Bike For Breakfast riders hit the road, the team is putting the pedal down for the final stretch of fundraising.

The campaign will see ten local riders doing the 1,046KM ride to Tuffnell, Saskatchewan in support of food for students programs at the Lloydminster Public School Division, Lloydminster Catholic School Division, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Northwest School Division and Buffalo Trail Elementary Schools.

For many of these riders, this is the first time they’ve gotten on their bikes in many years. Riders have been hitting the ground running for training, in order to be ready for the long haul.

In total, the campaign wants to raise $200,000 for these programs and has had a very strong start. In the 24 days since launch, Bike for Breakfast has raised over $141,000, as of Wednesday afternoon.

Local podcaster Shaun Newman says Lloydminster has always been a city that steps up for a great cause and it pains anyone to know that a child might be going hungry.

“You hear one story and that’s enough, [but] it’s come in that it isn’t just one community. It’s multiple communities, it’s happening in Lloyd. We just want to try and do some good, and this is a way we found would work.”

Bike For Breakfast has seen major support from local sponsors as well. Domino’s Pizza and 4th Meridan Brewery held a fundraiser pizza night which raised $10,000, Three Trees Tap & Kitchen is donating proceeds of certain menu items towards the cause and the Scoop Lloydminster will have their June ice-cream feature support them. Local artist Brandi Hofer has also pitched in with her artwork.

Some companies have dropped major donations on their GoFundMe, including Wayside Dental, Kings Energy Group and Crude Masters, who have all put in $25,000 apiece for the food supports.

Wayside Dental Clinic owner Dr Nekky Jamal is a rider as well and says as someone who, in his younger days, had to rely on the kindness of strangers, it’s powerful for him to see community members step up.

“I really feel momentum is just building. More and more people are hearing about it, more and more people want to jump on board, businesses want to get on this because they know how important this is. We always say with the right fuel our kids are going someplace, and we just need to provide them with that.”

Supporters can donate to Bike for Breakfast either by hitting their GoFundMe page or by reaching out to the Lloydminster Kinsmen Club, which will be handling accounting and tax receipts for Bike for Breakfast.