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Take the Wild Ride 65 for 65 challenge!

June 17, 2024

By Janice Biehn

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2024 more than 100 million people will be forcibly displaced or stateless – the highest number in history. Refugees often embark on dangerous journeys in pursuit of safety, and these journeys all-too-frequently meet a tragic end. According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, 3,105 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2023, the highest in six years.

This summer you are invited to join the third annual PWRDF Wild Ride as we embark on our 65 for 65 Challenge – raising $65,000 to mark PWRDF’s 65 years of supporting refugees and displaced people.

Download the poster to share in your community.

What began in 1958 with an outpouring of generosity to the community of Springhill, N.S., grieving after a mine disaster, grew into a demonstration of loving our neighbours around the world. The United Nations declared 1960 World Refugee Year. In response, The Primate’s World Relief Fund (the D for development was added in 1969), designated $100,000 of its donations to respond to refugees’ needs. It was more than half of all funds raised that year! Since then, PWRDF has supported refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout the world, including:

  • Advocacy for Salvadoran refugees in Honduras and Guatemalan refugees in Mexico during Central America’s civil wars of the 1980s;
  • Livelihood initiatives with Sri Lankan refugees who for decades have lived in camps in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu;
  • Reproductive health and food security programs in the massive Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya;
  • Health Clinics in Egypt for refugees from Syria, Sudan and South Sudan and elsewhere.

Today our partners are working to support refugees and internally displaced people in Gaza, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Sudan, Jordan, Ukraine and more.

Join the Wild Ride!

Join others across the country as we walk, cycle, roller blade, bake, read, knit, crochet, swim, kayak, canoe, dance and sing – or pretty much any activity you would like to undertake. Last year was a wild success with 22 teams and 93 participants joining forces for a record-breaking campaign, raising $62,000. In 2024 our goal is to raise $65,000 to mark our 65-year commitment to refugees and internally displaced people.

The Wild Ride will launch on World Refugee Day (June 20) and continue through to Thanksgiving, October 14. View the launch webinar and learn about our work in Gaza from our Anglican Alliance partner working in the Diocese of Jerusalem. “Put your stamp on it” by turning your favourite pastime into fundraising for a great cause. For further information, please email Kim Umbach at [email protected] or call 416-924-9199 ext. 367.