It will be a long and grueling bike ride, but Creston’s Cst. Brett Urano says he is excited to help raise funds and awareness for children in need.
The Cops for Kids Ride will be a ten-day bike ride through southeastern BC, starting in Kelowna on Friday before circling through the South Okanagan, the Kootenays, and back through Kamloops and Vernon.
Thirty-one law enforcement colleagues will make the ride, all of whom had to raise a minimum of $2,500 to join the team.
Urano will be the first Creston rider in many years to make the long journey, and he says he is excited to help out with such an important cause.
“I saw it as a good way to give back to the community and to be able to get to experience something different because I can only imagine what these families may have to go through.
“I can only imagine if I needed to do that for my own kids. So I thought, what better way to do that than to do this ride?”
Cops for Kids is a charity meant to raise funds and awareness for children facing illness, disability, or traumatic crises.
“So if, for instance, your kid needed the super fancy hearing AIDS or a pump, like an insulin pump or things like that, or where you have to travel to cancer treatments at Children’s hospitals, you could apply for a grant with them. And they will be able to support you and your family,” adds Urano.
“The nice thing about this charity is that it is a small one, so pretty much all the money we raise goes directly just the families that need it the most.”
Urano and the 31 riders will be making stops in communities along the way, including Creston on the 13th. Urano says they will be in town at the detachment for 4 p.m., but adds that could change if things are slow-going.
While long and grueling, Urana says he is more than ready for the bike ride, and is, in fact, looking forward to it.
“For me, it just gave me an extra excuse to ride my bicycle more than I already do! I ride all summer, pretty much all the time, all summer. I even ride in the winter on an indoor trainer. So I didn’t do too much extra preparation.”
“I’ve been doing loops around Nelson, Kaslo, New Denver, all that kind of stuff. Just being on the bike (is prep enough), because my legs can handle this. It’s just my butt that might be upset by the end of the time!”
For more information on Cops for Kids and for ways to donate, visit their website.