...to provide mental health support services for young people

Every two years a group of people, connected only through their love of cycling and a desire to raise money for BLGC (Bolton Lads & Girls Club) take on a challenge to specifically highlight the work the Charity does to create a positive effect on the lives of thousands of young people. To continue its work, BLGC relies on the generosity of good people (like you) to ensure its work can not only continue (as it has since 1889), but to stay relevant to the issues and pressures that young people face today (in 2024). This year we have been asked to support a specific project, as BLGC explained to us on our recent visit:

"We know that mental health support is much needed in our youth club. Many young people suffer with anxiety, low mood, self-harm, and depression, so our aim is to offer them as much support as possible to limit these outcomes as well as we can. We want/need to offer more mental health support within the youth club to help control and manage young people’s worries and anxieties before they can get to a more “clinical" condition. The money raised will be going towards funding mental health workshops and support for young people and will help deliver:

- One to one drop-in sessions with wellbeing youth worker

- Workshops on stress management and anxiety control

- Workshops on peer support

- Peer support group

Thank you for all your help & support"

We fully understand with unprecedented cost of living standards that this may not be a good time to be a "shaking the tin", but be assured your donation, how big or small will be gratefully received, and not a penny wasted. As always, we will be funding the ride ourselves from our own pockets. 

So what are we doing?

We will take our bikes (and legs) and over 8 riding days, starting in Venice, we will ride up through the Dolomites and then via Austria we will take on the Mountains of Slovenia. This will then route us back over the boarder to Trieste (and a quick loop into Croatia) and leave us (just) a 100 mile sprint back to Venice! In total, it's 544miles with over 48,000 ft of climbing (almost 90 ft of climbing for every mile we ride) and amongst some very tough climbs, we will face the toughest of them all......Monte Zoncolan (see photo in first post below). Its supposed to be a challenge!

(Whilst the page has been set up by Brandon, it is the fundraising page for the whole Slovenia Cycle Challenge Team!)

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.  And if you are a UK tax payer, don't forget to click the Gift Aid link - the Government tops up your donation an additional 25% of the donation value (representing the tax you have paid on your donation), so it really is money for nothing.