Jole rider …….Latest

This is just a short brief note to bring you all up to speed with some really good news on the progress of our Jole Rider International project within District 1160.

This year’s collection of Bikes and Books currently now stands at 550 bikes, and over 8,000 secondary school books.

The Rotary Club of Ballycastle excelled themselves this year by collecting over 150 bikes from 2 local secondary schools.

The Rotary Clubs of Lagan Valley, Coleraine, and Limavady have each collected well over 1000 books.

The overall number of bikes collected in the last 18 months now exceeds 800. Number of books is 12,000

Our Jole Rider Fun Run this year saw 39 Rotarians cycle between RC of Dungannon, and RC of Cookstown.

Sixty people attended the Jole Rider Celebration Dinner afterwards at the Glenavon House Hotel.

A donated Trek bike raised £400 in a raffle, and Stephen Roche, Ireland’s only Tour de France Winner, donated a fabulous, personally signed yellow jersey, for auction. This real “joining up ” of Rotary Clubs has now raised around £10,000 in 18 months and attracted corporate sponsorship from Le Farge Cement Cookstown, Johnsons Coffee Lisburn, Cycli Sport Moneymore and Shannon’s Jewellers, Lisburn.

Jimmy Dunlop and pals from Ballymoney cycled from Cookstown to the start line and then back again. Pictured above are Rotarians Peter Jack from Limavady and Rotarian Gordon Burrows Donaghadee who rode together for the first time on a brand new tandem supplied by RC of Dungannon.    Anyone recognize the PDG in dark glasses, or the glamorous girls from the NE?????

Developments @ Loughan House Open Prison. Co Cavan

Ciaran Mannion from the Rotary Club of Athlone has now secured our technical partner, Loughan House Open Prison, County Cavan, to fix all of our donated bikes.

David Swetenham, and Helen King Jole Rider founders visited Loughan House and discussed the future of networking.

Ethel Gavin, Prison Governor, has hosted two fact finding meetings with Rotarians at the jail.

Rotarians from Cookstown, Lisburn, Athlone, and Limavady have all met up with the team of dedicated team of prisoners who now fix over 20 bikes every week.

The Irish Prison Service has now fully funded a purpose built workshop, for repair of our donated bikes.

All the prisoners at Loughan House now hold a weekly car valet service which has to date raised over 1500 euro for Jole Rider

James Shivnan, from Rotary Club of Athlone is now working at “joining up” a number of clubs in his area of Ireland to work on Jole Rider.

At a recent District Assembly meeting held in Athlone, James Shivnan and Trevor Stewart presented the Jole Rider story and were delighted when Rotarians from Cork, Dublin and Youghal all wanted to get involved. They also had a generous offer of help, with shipping sea containers from Peter Conway, member of the Rotary Club of Newry.

So, as you can see our district network of Jole Riders, and our joined up Rotary approach is well and truly pedaling us forward.

Victor Hugo Quote:   There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come!

Visit the Gallery to view all photos of Jole Rider cycle day