Taking on cycle ride for charity

Taking on cycle ride for charity

27 August 2014

TWO of Down District’s best known sports administrators will be undertaking a 220-mile cycle ride for charity this week.

Joe Quinn, chairman of East Down Athletic Club, and Pat Power, Sports Development Officer with Down Council, are leaving today on a ride from Downpatrick to Duncannon in Co. Wexford to raise funds for Aware Defeat Depression.

The ride is in memory of Joe’s niece, Jennifer Quinn-O’Brien, a research fellow at Queen’s University where she carried out ground-breaking research into breast cancer but who became another victim of depression on May 20 last year.

The pair are cycling to the home of Pat’s sister in a ride which has been dubbed ‘Tracks for Wex.’ It will take them three days and Joe and Pat are hoping their friends will sponsor them through the Just Giving donation arrangement or by handing over money through sponsorship forms.

Every penny received will go to the charity as all expenses are being met by the cyclists.

To find out more about why the pair are taking on the challenge have a look at Joe and Pat’s Just Giving Page or justgiving.com/Joe-Quinn2.

All money raised for the charity stays in Northern Ireland and will be used to help people living in the community.

Aware Defeat Depression helps break down the stigma that surrounds all mental illness by getting people talking about it. It also funds a Mood Matters course for young people and pays for support groups such as those currently existing in Newcastle and Downpatrick.