BSCM Ride for Change Charity Tour

Hello everyone,

My name is Josh, but you may know me by my social media handle, JT Viper.

I was recently inspired to put a life's goal of mine -biking down the east coast of Australia- into the service of a greater good, and as such, I would like to present you with...

The BSCM Ride for Change

BSCM stands for Brisbane-Sydney-Canberra-Mebourne, which is the path I'll be riding down Australia's east coast, and the expedition will be raising funds and awareness to support Men's Mental Health charities in both Australia and Canada. The ride is being planned for the month of November, 2017.

Men's Mental Health Support has been selected as the beneficiary of this campaign because, as someone who has been hospitalized under observation for suicidal episodes in the past, and who struggles with Bipolar Disorder in my day-to-day life, I have seen, first-hand how much apathy, and in some cases outright mockery and derision there is towards men who struggle with mental health issues. These negative attitudes come  from individuals, businesses and even governments, who place these problems on the back-burner, if they leave room for them in their minds and budgets at all.

Charitable donations to the campaign will go towards Australian and Canadian Men's Charities such as:
-Beyondblue (https://www.beyondblue.org.au/)
-(Searching for Men's Mental Health charities in Canada... They are surprisingly hard-to-find)

This project has a specific, baseline fundraising target of $17,500.00, which is the same distance in kilometers I will be traveling from Belleville to Toronto, then flying out to Vancouver, hopping on an international flight to Brisbane, then cycling down through Sydney,  Canberra,  and Melbourne, respectively... With some scenic detours along the way through a number of Australia's national parks.

The GoFundMe goal has been set at $27,100.00 which is the projected total for both the $17,500.00 for the direct-to-charity donations, and then $7,750.00 (and then GoFundMe's 7.9%+$0.30/donation fees) to pay for necessities such as*:

-Airfare
-Cycling Equipment
-Food/Drink
-Camping Gear
-Campground Fees
-First Aid/Repair Supplies
-Fuel for the Support Vehicle
*(Check out the campaign wishlist for cost breakdowns)

Of course, a charity campaign does not, and cannot run solely on financial donations. In order to get the message out there, we need YOUR help. That's right, we need you, each and every one of you to spread word of this campaign across any and all of your social media platforms, and in your day-to-day interactions with friends and family.

Ways you can help raise the BSCM Ride for Change's profile online:

-Share this GoFundMe campaign's link on your Facebook profile/page!
-Retweet Twitter posts using the #BSCMRide4Change hashtag, and create your own Tweets to tell your followers about it!
-Create and share YouTube videos about the campaign, and what you're doing to help-out!
-Remember the #BSCMRide4Change hashtag when uploading Instagram photos and stories!
-Like, Share, Retweet, and Reblog EVERYTHING you see on your social media feeds that has to do with supporting the BSCM Ridge for Change!

Remember, without your financial and social support, there's just no way that this campaign will ever reach its goal.

Now, from myself, and on behalf of all the people who are helping me to make the BSCM Ride for Change a reality, and who want to help address the oft-ignored issues of Men's Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read through the campaign's story, and ask that you stay tuned for updates, as we have a LOT of interesting, and interactive events planned over the course of the next year.

Once again, thank you, and please stay tuned for updates on the campaign!

Warmest thanks,

Joshua Taylor and the rest of the BSCM Ride for Change Team