Ride 2 Serve 2020

Perseverance to Raise Funds amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Ride 2 Serve 2020 (R2S) is a grassroots-led charity movement formed by a group of cyclists, aiming to raise funds in support of SIWEC’s programmes. It was initially established as Ride for Charity (RFC) in 2014.

2020 started with much anticipation as regular riders had commenced training enthusiastically since November 2019 for the next ride scheduled for mid-March.

The 2020 ride was planned to start at Port Dickson, with overnight rest stops at Malacca and Batu Pahat.

Upon completing the 2019 ride last March, a group of riders assembled in April to deliver the first packs of monthly rations to support 30 families under the Sunlove Day Activity Centre at Eunos.

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Early publicity to promote the ride and recruit riders, donors, and support crew, started in December 2019.

The momentum picked up in January and February with increased training, even as DORSCON Orange was declared in early February due to early cases of COVID-19 in Singapore. Meanwhile, a team planning the logistics completed a recce-trip in mid-February to confirm the route and finalise accommodation arrangements.

All preparations were in place when the final briefing for participants was held on Sunday, 8 March. On 9 March, after sensing heightened concerns about participants’ well-being amidst growing uncertainties of the COVID-19 spread in the region, a decision was made to postpone the event to September 2020.

The organisers met to look at potential windows to schedule the postponed ride. The initial sentiment among riders was that there would be more certainty by June, so they continued training to keep up their fitness and stamina through weekend rides in small groups.

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Since early April 2020, when the circuit breaker was announced in Singapore, planning for the fundraiser came to a standstill.

However, the morale and spirit of riders remain high as they continue to train on their own.

Their resolve to serve others remains undaunted and they look forward to completing the quest, remaining hopeful to ride in Malaysia in the second half of 2020.

However, the option of a local ride covering the same distance has also been explored, in the eventuality that COVID-19 travel restrictions remain in place throughout the year.

What is most heartening is that these volunteers are eternal optimists as they see a silver lining among the clouds. As organizer Paul Luvinderpal Singh reflected, “We have more time to train and raise funds, both via online channels and through personal appeals.”

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