How Ride for Eric has helped us:

Ride for Eric 2015: July 12th
www.rideforeric.com

Since 1991, Cavendish Cancer Care has supported thousands of families in South Yorkshire through all stages of cancer and beyond with complementary therapies and counselling. Our support is available to anybody, at any age, who is affected by cancer.

For adults, we offered the chance to talk in confidence and complementary therapies to support their recovery or relaxation. For children, both diagnosed with and affected by cancer, we have a team of specially trained therapists with many years’ experience of specialised work with children and young people in a variety of settings.

Our services are accessed by around 1,500 families affected by cancer every single year, but we know that there are more people out there who we can help.

In 2013 a former patient of Cavendish, Karen Codling, received the devastating news that her husband Eric had been knocked from his bicycle and killed. Understandably, her world was turned upside down in seconds. Having received treatment at the Centre previously for breast cancer, Karen turned to us in her time of need and asked for support during her bereavement.

As Karen visited the Centre, she recognised that her daughter would also benefit from the service and introduced her during the difficult time. Soon, it became clear that our family bereavement services could really benefit local families, and not just those bereaved through cancer.

When Karen and her family launched Ride for Eric in 2014, they were dedicated to raising money to enable us to provide the service, not limited to bereavement through cancer, and we began planning our new model of care.

Fast-forward a year and here we are! Ride for Eric has now raised over £10,000 towards our family bereavement service – with more to come this year. This money has enabled us to employ a new Children’s Therapist and widen our reach to families across South Yorkshire.

50% of the money raised from Ride for Eric for Cavendish goes towards this service, and goes to support local families who are bereaved. The remaining money goes towards making South Yorkshire’s roads safer for cyclists.

Last year over 400 participants got involved raising over £10,000 to help fund a bereavement counselling service provided by Cavendish.

The event comprises three different routes – a family-orientated 5K route, a 15K route for regular cyclists and a 50K challenge for enthusiasts – starting from Abbeydale Sports Club.

To sign up for Ride for Eric 2015 – head to: www.rideforeric.com