Participation Ride Blog launched
August 25, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
First of all, a big thank you is due to all of you who put your hands in your pockets and sponsored me and the three other riders. I have now hit my target so a trip to one of the African countries we have been researching like mad is now on the cards for the autumn. We are now in communication with key local partners. We hope to be able to announce the country and dates for fieldwork very shortly.
Regarding the cycle ride, I intend to be blogging from the saddle, WiFi permitting, and I have a clever device which will be sending my location to a Google Map in near real time (via satellite). So you’ll be able to share in some of the excitement with none of the pain! The live map is here. However, I thought it wise to spare all ColaLife supporters all the detail of the ride and so I’ve set up another blog to carry the story of the ride for those who are interested. The url of The Participation Ride Blog is: http://aidpod.org (for obvious reasons).
Onwards and upwards!
Follow the ride live!
August 19, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Last night, just before packing it in for the day, my iPhone made the noise of money falling on a table - the JustGiving App on the iPhone is really quite good - this was significant because a very generous friend and ColaLife supporter had just donated the amount of money I needed to reach my target of £1,500.
This means I’m off to Africa to meet face-to-face with the people we’ve been researching and communicating with by email and Skype to work together to co-design a trial of ColaLife! If you haven’t donated yet please don’t hold yourself back because the other riders haven’t met their targets yet and are stressing a bit! >> How to
I find this fundraising lark really quite difficult and I’m really grateful to all those who have responded to my pleading emails and put their hands in their pockets and/or sent kind tweets, written a blog post or whatever. I don’t take your support for granted and you will see the results of your support unfolding here.
It’s also good to make things fun if you can. So, I’ve set up The ColaLife Participation Ride 2010 Blog! The url is aidpod.org (for obvious reasons) and it features a LIVE map. While we are cycling this map will be updated every 15 minutes or so. I will also be blogging from the saddle, WiFi access permitting, so supporters will be able to participate in a lot of the excitment with none of the pain.
Thanks again for your support!
Fundraising for fieldwork - help create the Sprat . .
August 11, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
. . . to catch the Mackerel.
For the first time since the start to the ColaLife campaign two years ago I am asking supporters to put their hands in their pockets to help us move to the next phase - fieldwork that will lead to the trial of the idea in Africa. In July we were shortlisted for an award from the Clinton Foundation but, in the final analysis, we were not successful. This tells me three things:
- We will get serious funding to implement a trial of the ColaLife one day
- We need build on the desk research and communications work we are doing by visiting the country of the trial and getting some face time with the key players
- We need to work with these key players to co-design the trial and then take the plan to the likes of the Clinton Foundation for funding
On 4 September three of us are cycling from Boulogne to Biarritz to raise the money to fund this fieldwork. The cycling is an awareness raiser, a device to get people’s attention but all the riders are funding all their own expenses so that 100% of all donations will go to ColaLife. The money raised will fund the fieldwork which will produce the plan for the trial which will be put to the likes of the Clinton Foundation and Coca-Cola for funding. Your donation will have a multiplier effect. It will fund the creation of the trial plan. It will be the Sprat to catch the Mackerel.
PLEASE SUPPORT US in this. You can donate here. And this is why we need your support.
Your donation won’t be the end of it . . . you will be able to follow the progress of the ride live online. Our location will be updated every ten minutes or so to an online map throughout the journey. I will also be blogging from the saddle. So you’ll be able to join in the fun with none of the pain! Links to follow.
The riders
Kiefer (17), Nigel (50-ish) and Simon (me) (the oldest by some way)
The ride
Indicative route only at this stage. Image courtesy of Google Maps
The Dream Team | ColaLife Participation Ride 2010
July 20, 2010 by Simon Berry · 1 Comment
Kiefer, Sam, Andy,
Nigel and Simon
The dream team has been assembled for the 2010 ColaLife Participation Ride and the members are:
Kiefer Scott (17)
My name is Kiefer Scott and I live near Scunthorpe in the UK. I am 17 and attend John Leggott College, I am studying Media, English Language and ICT. I am a passionate cyclist and have been for many years now, and when I heard about ColaLife I thought it would be a great oppertunity to raise money for a very worthy cause. I heard about ColaLife through a college friend who is also participating.
I really wanted to get involved because I love cycling, but also because I beleive that ColaLife is a worthy cause, and that the point in which they are outlining is one which needs to be made, and needs to be spread to as many people as possible. Also, the satisfaction and knowing that I have contributed to this cause, of saving lives, and improving the quality of life of people in developing countries, will be overwhelming. You can sponsor Kiefer via his JustGiving page here.
Sam Berry (27)
Sam, being Sam, has yet to provide a mini-biography for me to publish here. The penalty for this is that I will write it on his behalf (ditto Nigel below). Sam is my middle son. He has done a great deal for ColaLife already. He works for The Moving Picture Company and so is a bit handy when it comes to 3D animation. He was one of the team of 4 who pulled the first ColaLife animation together in 3 days. This has now received more than 12,000 views on YouTube. He also did this single handed to an impossible deadline - how the AidPod works. Sam has only just started cycling and this will be his first long distance ride.
Andy Clarke (18)
I’m an 18 year old student, looking to study politics at university. I have a strong interest in international development, and hope to be involved in some sort of government role in later life. I’m supporting ColaLife because once its aim is carried out, it’s a simple way to help people get the much needed medicines which they need. I also think that big companies such as Coca-Cola need to be doing much more to help the poorer people in the world, and ColaLife is a great way for them to do this. Andy and Keifer are planning the travel to the start of the ride and the travel back from Biarritz. You can sponsor Andy via his JustGiving page here.
Nigel Bolding (52, or thereabouts)
Again, no words from Nigel, so here are a few from me. Nigel is a great friend on of mine of many years. We shared a house with Jane (my partner in life and ColaLife) while at University. He is a ColaLife enthusiast and has obtained a quote for the manufacture of AidPods through one of his contacts in China (Nigel has contacts everywhere). This ride was his idea! Nigel runs The World’s Best Hotels and The Chic Collection - check them out. He is also the fluent french speaker in the team. He will be booking our accommodation along the route, if he gets round to it, that is. You can sponsor Nigel via his JustGiving page here.
Me (54)
The oldest member of the team and that would worry me except that I have done this sort of ride before: Land’s End to John o’ Groats (2006) and Land’s End to John o’ Groats (again!) on the national cycle network (2007)*. Oh, and I cycled from Cardiff to London in a day once. I’m planning the route and will be loading it on to my GPS so that we don’t get lost (very often). You can sponsor me via my JustGiving page here.
We are each raising money towards the cost of fieldwork in Africa which will produce a fully costed plan for an independently evaluated trial of the ColaLife idea. This plan will then be presented to Coca-Cola and one of the major donors for funding.
Onwards and upwards!
* For the cycling/GPS geeks amongst you, the mapping for this trip are here: gpscycle.com
Now we are three . . .
June 18, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
In order of age: Andy, Nigel and Simon
There’s been a flurry of activity since we started our recruitment drive for cyclists to join us on the ColaLife Participation Ride 2010. There are three confirmed riders/fund-raisers so far with three or four ‘maybes’ and two ‘I’m totally gutteds’ (I can’t do those dates). This looks like fun already! It would be good to have a few women though to balance the gender mix.
ColaLife is recruiting . . . cyclists
June 15, 2010 by Simon Berry · 2 Comments
Indicative route only at this stage. Image courtesy of Google Maps
The ColaLife Participation Ride 2010
My old friend, Nigel Bolding, and I are looking for three others to join us on a ride across France to raise money towards the costs of the fieldwork that we need to carry out to plan the independently evaluated trial of ColaLife*. We aim to raise £10,000 between us and we are looking for a philanthropist to match this amount. Are you that philanthropist?
If you’d like to be one of the riders please comment on this blog post or contact me directly at simon[at]colalife.org or on +44 (0)7932 107109.
Basic facts about the ride:
Dates: 4/9/10 to 12/9/10
From: Boulogne
To: Biarritz
Approximate distance: 1035km (650 miles)
Cycling days: 8
* For more details of how this fits in with our current workstreams please see this post: Kicking of Phase 2 of ColaLife.
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