On the Spot by Ken Herar
The Cycling4Diversity team is ready to put the pedal to the metal and deliver the message of diversity and inclusiveness from May 22-28 during Cycling4Diversity Week in B.C.
The focus this year will be on rural communities, visiting Hope, Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs during the first portion of our journey. I am excited to lead the team through this corridor, and during our planning, the communities have welcomed us with open arms.
Sometimes smaller communities get missed in the equation and the message of diversity needs to be planted. I was at a crossroads this year if I wanted to plan the ride, having visited over 100 schools in the past five years, but with the encouragement of the community and executive director Anne Marie Sjoden, we are more passionate than ever to do this again.
Reflecting on what impresses me the most on this initiative, having only planned on doing this once back in 2011, has been the support of the community. Wherever we have knocked to get support to assist us, organizations and members from the community have stepped up and made our work much easier.
The team is honoured to deliver this message, and excited about finishing in Abbotsford at Robert Bateman Secondary on May 27.
We are always looking for new members, and if you want to part of our C4D team this year, do send us a message. The best way to reach us is by sending us an email to cycling4diversity@gmail.com or you can send us a message on our Facebook page.
The Abbotsford News and Cycling4Diversity finished our short message and colouring contest, and we have some wonderful messages. The winners for the short message contest were Reena Sekhon, Jessica Rebagliati and Susan Merry Barker.
Sekhon said: “My kids are Indo-Canadian French immersion students. Diversity of learning another language has taught them and us to celebrate we are all Canadian regardless of the colour of our skin or the language we speak.”
Rebagliati said: “About a year ago, I started a new job with a program that is dedicated to helping newcomers to Canada. In this position, I have met people from all over the world. It’s amazing to learn about different cultures and meet people with such interesting backgrounds. I love the diversity in my job and I think it’s really opened my eyes to the rest of the world. I’ve also met some really great people along the way.”
Barker wrote: “I’m so thankful that my parents married in 1949. As Aboriginal/English, they taught diversity by their own example.”
The colouring contest winners were: Isabel Schmitt, Kristen Williams and Breanna Tanguay.
kenherar@gmail.com