Motorcycles, classic cars to ride from Maple Ridge to Hope for youth summer camp

Summer camp is chance for children to get outside, learn new activities, and meet new friends.

For some children, though, the summer months are spent at home, alone while their parents go out to work.

It is to give these vulnerable children a chance to experience the fun of summer camp that Ride for Hope was born.

The second annual motorcycle and classic car ride will be taking place this weekend where enthusiasts will be making their way from Maple Ridge to Hope. Participants will be raising money for the Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries Summer Camp program.

Each year, around 70 youth are sent to camp on the Sunshine Coast. Camp, and explained Amelia Norrie with the Ridge Meadows Ministries, it is often the only chance these youth get to experience just being kids for a week.

“Whether its canoeing, zip-lining or roasting s’mores around a camp fire, The Salvation Army’s Camp Sunrise in Gibsons, B.C. is the experience of a life time for vulnerable kids in our community,” she said.

The ride will start at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, at Ridge Church, 22155 Lougheed Hwy. and end at Memorial Park in Hope. The procession of riders will follow Route 7, a scenic drive through Mission, Deroche, and Agassiz, before reaching a rest stop at Harrison Hot Springs. Then the ride will continue to Hope where there will be a celebratory barbecue hosted by the Salvation Army.

Cost for the ride is $25 and will include the guided ride, lunch, and a commemorative collector’s patch.

READ MORE: Salvation Army sending record number of kids to camp

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Registration is open until midnight on Friday, June 10 at ridgemeadowssa.ca/ride-for-hope. However, participants can also call 604-463-8296, extension 106 or they will also be able to register on-site starting at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 11.

“Summer Camp is a chance for kids to just be kids for a week,” said Dave Macpherson, executive director for The Salvation Army Ridge Meadows. “Camp Sunrise provides connections and interactions that some of our campers would otherwise never encounter. This is why Camp Sunrise is so important in our Community.”

To donate directly to The Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Summer Camp program go to ridgemeadowssa.ca/summer-camp.