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Cops for Kids reaches the peak

Gruelling fundraising bike ride through southeastern B.C. raises $215,000.
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Riders with the Cops for Kids annual fundraiser finished their gruelling ride at the Paulson Summit in the West Kootenay this week. They were joined by Southeast District Commander Chief Superintendent Mike Sekela (pictured in uniform)

The showcase event for the Cops for Kids Charitable Foundation, a 10-day bike ride through southeastern B.C., topped up a record year for amounts raised in their annual fundraising efforts.

Money raised by Cops For Kids goes to local families in need of financial support for kids with medical and special needs.

Twenty-one riders and six support members from the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies — including B.C. Sheriffs and the Canada Border Service Agency — participated in this year's ride from Sept. 7 to 13.

Riders again received fabulous support and warm welcomes in each community visited over the course of the gruelling ride.

Riders also met with some of the children receiving grants this year. "Meeting and getting to know the young ambassadors of Cops for Kids truly puts into perspective our own short-term struggles, aches and pains encountered during the ride and in our daily lives, compared to those that these children face each day of theirs," said rider and president Gail Harrison.

"This year's amount raised — $215,000 —permitted us to help so far over 100 kids in communities in southeast B.C.," Harrison said.

In a show of support and solidarity, Southeast District Commander Chief Superintendent Mike Sekela was roadside at the Paulson Summit on Hwy 3, near Christina Lake, cheering on the riders as they tackled one of the harder portions of the route.

"On behalf of Southeast District RCMP, thank you to all who helped us by donating to Cops For Kids," Sekela said.