Cycling Against Poverty - braking the chains of debt and poverty in the South East

With the number of people in the UK living in poverty having risen to 14.4m (Joseph Rowntree Foundation), Christians Against Poverty, in partnership with churches across the South East of England realised they needed to step up a gear!

CAP South East Region Leader, Alison Berry says “Thousands of households in the South East are facing a devastating debt crisis as we head into autumn and winter.

“We’re doing everything we can to support people in our community, but the truth is, it’s getting harder and harder. It’s heartbreaking to see the level of need our clients are facing and I wish we could offer even more help and time to them.”

To secure the vital funding they need in order to provide more support in more areas, they’re taking on a Cycling Against Poverty challenge - by pedal power alone linking up all our centres in the South East - joining all the spokes of our region - from Chipping Norton in the North, to Folkestone in the East, to the Isle of Wight in the South to Hungerford in the West.

Alison herself has already cycled from Egham to Addlestone & Chertsey (two of the CAP debt centres in Surrey). One of the team, Peter Holland, has already got on his bike and started his 169 mile ride (in stages!) from Lymington to Folkestone, taking in centres at partner churches in Portsmouth, Southampton, Chichester, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, Worthing, Shoreham-by-sea, Brighton & Hove, Eastbourne, Bexhill-on-Sea, and Hastings & St. Leonard’s.

Alison Berry added: “By donating to CAP, you’ll join our fight against poverty in the South East and make a massive difference to the lives of others in our community. Please support our work if you can.”

If you feel able to donate, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/team/cap-southeast-cyclingagainstpoverty or capuk.org/donate