Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

For about the last twenty years I have been taking part in the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust (GHCT) Ride+Stride, always held on the second Saturday in September.  I have sometimes cycled on my own, but more often with a group of other cyclists from Kingswood. All donations are shared equally between our nominated church (St Mary's, Kingswood) and the GHCT.

We aim to cycle in excess of 30 miles and visit around 20 churches.  Last year our Kingswood group raised over £1400, making us the fourth highest contributors among well over 100 churches from all over Gloucestershire.  This year we are trying to come top! With this aim in mind I have, for the first time, set up a JustGiving page to try and reach out to a wider group of supporters than before.  I am not asking for mega-sponsorship but, as a certain supermarket keeps telling us, "Every little helps".  This is especially true if that little help can be Gift-Aided.

Why do I think this is worth doing? The cost of maintaining historic  buildings such as St Mary's Church is very high and often cannot be borne solely by the congregations that use them. They are of worth to the entire community for their beauty, their historical significance and for the religious purposes such as weddings, baptisms, funerals and regular services, not to mention individual prayer and retreat, and burial. The GHCT is there to support the maintenance of the buildings, their contents and the surrounding churchyards.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.