A chap I work with is participating (as part of the road crew) in the Race Across America event, working as part of the road crew for a team of RAF cyclists. He needs to raise a grand in funds over the next three or four months, so if you’re able and willing to spare a few quid why not do so?
The charity in question is Help For Heroes, which “supports our wounded. Help for Heroes provides practical direct support to those servicemen and women wounded in the line of duty in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Whatever your thoughts on those conflicts (regular readers of this and other blogs will know mine are strongly anti-war to say the least) it’s important to remember that wounded military veterans have a traditionally raw deal, with post-service support from the government often failing to meet their economic, social and psychological needs, and a lot of veterans also end up homeless.
Besides which, anyone who cycles across the United States deserves respect, no?
Still, if you have a real ethical problem with donating to this cause, you could always offer your support to this grassroots pro-Democracy Haitian aid group instead.
It turns out that he won’t be going after all, as he doesn’t have a driver’s license. There’s been a failure of communication at some point along the line… still, someone from my company will be going.
Probs best just click that Haiti link.