Cash rolls in for children in stationary-bike fundraising event

The organizer: Stuart Johnson

The pitch: raising $100,000

The cause: the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada

When the pandemic hit last year, Stuart Johnson did what a lot of Canadians did to keep healthy: He bought a bike.

He spent months cycling around his home in Toronto and when winter came he decided to buy a stationary bike to keep up the routine. But demand for the bikes was so strong that he had to wait a month to get one. That got him thinking about the number of people pedalling alone at home and he decided to come up with something to make it more social.

Together with his friend Michael Homer, Mr. Johnson organized voice and text channels for riders to form teams and communicate with each other. That led to the Holiday Bike Challenge, a oneday fundraising event in December in support of the Children’ s Aid Foundation of Canada. Mr. Johnson, 26, has had some involvement with the foundation over the years and he has always been struck by the lifelong support it gives to children in need.

“It has put in perspective how fortunate I am and how resilient these children are,” he said.

The first Holiday Challenge involved about 25 riders who raised around $25,000. This year’s event will run over four days, from Dec .2 to 5, and more than 60 people have signed up, including teams from several companies. Mr. Johnson has set a target of raising $75,000, and hopes the cyclists can cover up to 10,000 kilometres in total.

He plans to expand it even further next year. “I didn’t have a network to lean on so I needed to create an event or an incentive to get people involved,” he added.

Mr. Johnson, who works in the financial sector, has been overwhelmed by the success of the challenge and the number of people who have supported the foundation.

“It’s been phenomenal,” he said. “It has really brought a tear to my eye to see people get behind something that’s important to me.”