Veterans Ride Across Canada

August 17, 2015 · 0 Comments

Communities for Veterans Foundation (CVF) is a not for profit organization that is riding across Canada, a roughly 200 day horseback ride from Victoria, British Columbia, to Newfoundland. This ride is being completed by former Calgary Highlander and Veteran Paul Nichols, his wife Terry and as many other Veteran guest riders from along the way as possible.
This project is about Canada’s communities coming together with there veterans to create awareness about the contributions they have made and to encourage discussion about the challenges that they can face at home when transitioning back into the world of civilians (family breakups, mental illness and PTSD). CVF feels it is very important to know the stories of veterans in order to learn how to help and support them after they give themselves for the security of our country.
The Ride Across Canada is collecting the stories of our veterans while introducing them to their own communities on horseback. From coast to coast, veterans are volunteering to be a part of the ride, share their story and aide in the discussion and discovery of our veteran needs. Every day CVF tries to put more and more veterans in the saddle and talk to them about their experiences both in the military and on the way out. Nichols, chose to execute this journey on horseback because of his own experience with horses and how important they were to his return to civilian life.
CVF’s mission is to bring communities together through the introduction of their veterans on a horseback ride across Canada, as this country is home to over 540,000 veterans whose average age is fifty-six. In order to understand veterans and their needs, it is imperative that we hear their stories and get a clear vision of who our veterans are. The Ride Across Canada introduces the faces and stories of over 700 veterans from Victoria to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Throughout the ride, CVF’s goal is to share stories, encourage discussion and bridge the gap between civilian and military communities. CVF feels that together we can change the statistics for soldiers and work toward reducing the instances of mental illness, depression, family trauma and suicide.
Their fundraising initiatives have grown since the beginning and CVF has had a wonderful amount of people come on board with all kinds of ideas on how to help them stay on the road and raise money for their goals. CVF says all funds over and above the cost of executing the ride will be donated to organizations and programs that provide support for veterans and their families.
To learn more about CVF and to follow Nichols on his journey across Canada go to communitiesforveterans.ca

By Michelle Austen