GET ONYA BIKE AUSTRALIA TO SUPPORT FARMERS’
Do you love the freedom of being onya bike, being on a journey peddling to wherever you want to go?
Have you thought about combining your love of bike riding with supporting someone in need – but don’t have time to go on one of those long charity rides?
Then Rural Aid has the answer for you.
This September, we want you to get onya bike and spend up to an hour a day riding (or spin biking) and be part of the Australia-wide Beach 2 Bush Ride, to raise funds for qualified counsellors for our farmers and rural communities.
Not a cyclist? Not a problem. If walking or running is your thing, you can still participate.
Rural Aid CEO Charles Alder said many of us living in a thriving city environment can find it difficult to comprehend the extent of the drought.
“However, the realities of the harsh Australian conditions and natural disasters are devastating for our farmers and rural communities on many levels,” Charles Alder said.
“The goal of this September’s Beach 2 Bush Ride is to raise $150,000 to place one new counsellor in rural Australia to offer vital professional support to drought-affected farmers and their families.”
About counselling support for farming families
Rural Aid counsellor, Zoe Cox said there has never been as much demand for counselling support for farmers and rural communities as there is now.
“Many farmers are up to hundreds of kilometres from the closest doctor or counselling service and find themselves in a place where they feel helpless and alone,” Zoe said.
“Throughout Australia, isolation, loneliness, depression and suicide and rates are all climbing. These rates are even higher in regional and rural areas, due to remoteness and the stresses on farmers as a result of devastating experiences.
“Rural Aid qualified counsellors help reduce some of that isolation by visiting the farmers and their families where they live.”
Rural Aid nationally qualified counsellors visit farmers and rural communities and live within their communities for a minimum of three years at a time to help build a holistic approach to community support.
How Beach to Bush Ride works:
Measure out a distance between a major country town and a major beach, then challenge yourself to ride the equivalent distance over the month of September. Log your kilometres on your profile page and raise money for every kilometre you ride. Whether you ride for recreation, or to commute, or prefer to get on an exercise bike at the gym, every kilometre counts.
To register a team, visit: beachtobushride.com.au and register today.
About Rural Aid
Rural Aid supports farmers and rural communities in times of natural disaster such as flood, fire and drought. In addition, Rural Aid focusses on supporting the sustainability of regional and farming communities. Its disaster relief program includes the nationally recognised Buy a Bale campaign. Other programs include providing volunteer support to rural towns, musical instruments to regional schools and counselling. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities.
Did you know?
- Around eight million people live in regional Australia.
- Our regions’ workforce accounts for one third of employment in Australia.
- Regional Australia accounts for one third of national output.
- Most remarkably, since 2001, regional Australia has gained ground on metro areas in productivity terms in every industry except mining.
- Each Australian farmer produces enough food to feed 600 people, 150 at home and 450 overseas.
- Australian farmers produce almost 93 percent of Australia’s daily domestic food supply. When a natural disaster impacts farmers, it affects ALL of us!!
- As of 2016-17, there are 304,200 people directly employed in Australian agriculture. The complete agricultural supply chain, including the affiliated food and fibre industries, provides over 1.6 million jobs to the Australian economy.
- The gross value of Australian farm production in 2016-17 was $60 billion.
Media enquiries: Raylee Huggett – 0422181796