Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy has announced her participation in the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle this July, in aid of homeless and housing charity Focus Ireland.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medal winning sailor, who recently transitioned to national level track and road race cycling, is calling on 1,000 cyclists and fitness enthusiasts around Ireland and beyond to join her on the 170 km charity cycle this July, and to choose Focus Ireland when registering, in order to raise funds for the homeless and housing charity.
The 34 year old says she signed up for the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle and selected Focus Ireland as her charity of choice because she wanted to do something to help address the rising homelessness crisis now affecting thousands of people in Ireland.
Official Department of Housing figures released last month show that a record total of 13,866 people living in Ireland are now homeless. This includes 4,147 children and 1,981 families. These figures show a 16% increase on the same time last year and account only for people who are accessing emergency accommodation. They do not include people who are rough sleeping or staying in temporary accommodation such as domestic violence refuges, or people who are experiencing ‘hidden homeless,’ staying with family or friends in insecure housing.
“The homelessness crisis is an issue that just can’t be ignored and taking part in the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle provides an opportunity for me to help end homelessness, by supporting Focus Ireland in their efforts to prevent homelessness and provide homes for people experiencing homelessness,” she said.
“Cycling the Ring of Kerry is a challenge for anyone and it’s a route I’ve never cycled in full before. Focus Ireland is challenging homelessness and changing lives every day so I’m looking forward to rising to that challenge and would encourage as many cyclists as possible to join me on the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle on Saturday July 6, and to choose Focus Ireland when registering. We can all play our part in ending homelessness.”
Focus Ireland believes that everyone has the right to a place they can call home and provides over 100 services nationwide to people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, with the end goal of helping them secure a home of their own.
This is the first year in the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle’s 42-year history that Focus Ireland has been selected as a main beneficiary charity, in recognition of the need to address the surging homelessness crisis.
Up to 5,000 cyclists are expected to take part in the event this year and Focus Ireland, with the support of Annalise Murphy, aims to recruit 1,000 of those participants to sign up in aid of the charity and cycle in its name on Saturday July 6.
Focus Ireland was founded by Kerry native, Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, in the 1980s. The charity now specialises in addressing the unique needs of families experiencing homelessness, as well as supporting young people and individuals. Its motto is ‘Challenging Homelessness, Changing Lives.
“If each cyclist who signed up raised an additional €100, Focus Ireland could benefit from more than €200,000 to continue its vital, life changing work with families experiencing homelessness. It is therefore critical that cyclists select Focus Ireland when registering, to ensure maximum benefit from participating in the event,” she said.
The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle is one of a number of fundraising challenges Focus Ireland is involved with this summer to raise awareness of the homeless issue and funds for the organisation’s work. One of the upcoming challenges the charity is hosting is On The Move, an outdoor adventure challenge taking place from Friday 14 June – Sunday 16 June. The event invites participants to climb a famous Irish mountain such as Croagh Patrick or Carrauntoohil in aid of Focus Ireland, or set themselves a hiking challenge of their choice.
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