/C O R R E C T I O N from Source -- Connected Canadians/

In the news release, titled "Ride to Connect Donation Drive Gains Speed on COVID-19" issued on June 19, 2020 by Connected Canadians over CNW, we are advised by the company that the email should read "[email protected]" rather than "[email protected]" as originally issued inadvertently. The complete, corrected release follows:

Ride to Connect Donation Drive Gains Speed on COVID-19

UOttawa med students create cycle-for-donations campaign to help isolated seniors stay connected

OTTAWA, ON, June 19, 2020 /CNW/ - It's a great thing when one good turn leads to another ? and another, and another.

Consider, for instance. Ride to Connect, the new cycling-for-donations campaign created by a group of UOttawa medical students. Their goodwill effort arose specifically to support Seniors Can Connect!, an Ottawa-based program that loans tablet computers and provides technical guidance so that isolated seniors across Canada can stay in closer contact with loved ones during the pandemic and beyond.

Launched on June 1 by seven co-founders including Adriano Petrangelo and Francesco Fazzari, Ride to Connect has already enlisted 150 riders or all abilities and has had to reset its summer fundraising goal from an already surpassed $15,000 to $50,000.

For the group of co-founders, converting kilometres cycled into dollars raised seemed like a great to way to make a difference in a time when families and friends can be challenged to simply stay in touch.

"During the pandemic, technology has been our lifeline to the outside world but we found it especially difficult to stay connected with our grandparents," explained Petrangelo. "We imagined how isolated they and other seniors must be feeling without the means to communicate over videoconference or social media."

"After learning about Seniors Can Connect!, we brainstormed with fellow students on ways to bring about long-lasting change for these seniors," added Fazzari. "We decided that if we collectively cycled a large distance over the summer, we could show how a unified community can overcome any distance, and that distance doesn't have to mean distant."

Seniors Can Connect! is a collaboration between HelpAge Canada and Connected Canadians. The aim is to provide access and support to technology for seniors across Canada through two integrated programs: a toll-free tech support hotline (training and support for seniors with their own devices), and tablet computer lending services for seniors who lack devices to communicate online.

"Seniors Can Connect is perfectly aligned with our training as medical students, where we seek to empower vulnerable communities with proper education and continuous support," noted Petrangelo. "By partnering with this great program, we can help enact long-lasting change and improvements to the way seniors use and benefit from technology."

Additional members of the Ride to Connect founding group are Raphael Lessard, Mitch Crozier, Nathan Chiarlitti, Simon Pupulin, and Brendan Cotter. After only a few weeks, the core group of volunteers numbers 12, each with a different skills set and each empowered to succeed collaboratively. Together they've inspired riders to log more than 23,000 km (as of this writing) toward a campaign goal of 200,000 km. All who monitor the campaign progress have the opportunity to sponsor or make donations.

"Our first week had approximately 60 riders and by our second we had more than 140," reports Fazzari. "We have cyclists of all skill levels, from amateur to professional. Aside from raising funds and awareness for a good cause, we also wanted to motivate Canadians to stay physically active in a way that works with physical distancing."

"The rapid progress we've made is a direct statement from the community on how passionate it is about the cause," said Fazzari. "Almost all of our donors have expressed to us how necessary it is that our elderly community feel empowered to use technology."

Thanks largely to free smart phone app called Strava, joining the ride is very easy for almost anyone with access to a bike. The app uses the GPS in a rider's phone to automatically track and report all the kilometres logged.

The Ride to Connect team is quick to point out that participating cyclists should always ride safely. That means staying at least two metres apart from other riders, being cautious of pedestrians and vehicles, and always wearing a helmet.

Upcoming Ride to Connect events and promotions include a Father's Day virtual ride meet-up and dedicated rides to honour the campaign's platinum sponsors.

HelpAge Canada is Canada's only national and international charitable organization exclusively working for older persons, since 1975, and a founding member of HelpAge International operating in 85 countries.

Connected Canadians is a federally incorporated non-profit organization based in Ottawa with a mandate to connect older adults with free technology training and support. 

For additional details, visit ridetoconnect.ca or helpagecanada.ca/ride-to-connect.

SOURCE Connected Canadians and HelpAge Canada