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Feed Those in Need One Can at a Time
The CDR's braved the cold to collect cans with Marks Work Wear World for Martha's table tonight
Saturday 11 December 2010
UNIT 001 Fairfax Virginia
Dispatch riders donate to memorial wall
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Kate Everson
EMC News - The Canadian Dispatch Riders are the first group to donate to the proposed Memorial Wall.
"We dispatch good will," said founder Chris "Cookie" Graham as he presented a cheque for $500 to Mayor John Williams. The group also presented a plaque and bumper stickers with "Repatriation Row" for the Memorial Committee.
"We help soup kitchens and food banks and homeless shelters," Graham added.
The group formed last year in Kingston and includes ex-military and supporters. Some ride motorcycles but that is not a requirement. "Do you want to help others?" Graham asked. "Then you can join."
There are about 25 members in Kingston and the group is slowly spreading across the country with a few also in Washington, D.C.
"We have a great friendship," Graham smiled.
Graham found out about the memorial from his mother Dawna who lives in Trenton. Graham was in the Air Force for 20 years, joining in 1980. The group has set up a FaceBook page to help with the funding of the wall.
Mayor John Williams said the committee is just choosing a design now and will start to raise money soon. He expected a lot to come in just like this, from supporters. "I've had calls from all across Canada," he said. "Some are mothers of soldiers who died in Afghanistan."
He noted the location is Bain Park and will be a major project
Donation to
QW Memorial Wall Committee
JEROME LESSARD / TRENTONIAN
Chris Graham, founder and national first officer of the Canadian Dispatch Rider group, presented a $500 cheque to Quinte West Mayor John Wiliams for the city's Afghanistan Memorial Wall project Monday. Graham was accompanied at city hall by his wife Dianna and a dozen Dispatch riders. "We want to help getting the message out about the Memorial Wall project," said Graham, who has served in the Canadian Forces for 20 years. "The project is now at the 'almost ready to go stage'," added Williams. "We are planning to finance this project without any government funding. So every donation like today's makes a difference. Thank you very much to all the 25 members of the Dispatch Rider group on behalf of the Memorial Wall Committee."
Dispatch riders donate to memorial wall
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Kate EversonEMC News - The Canadian Dispatch Riders are the first group to donate to the proposed Memorial Wall.
"We dispatch good will," said founder Chris "Cookie" Graham as he presented a cheque for $500 to Mayor John Williams. The group also presented a plaque and bumper stickers with "Repatriation Row" for the Memorial Committee.
"We help soup kitchens and food banks and homeless shelters," Graham added.
The group formed last year in Kingston and includes ex-military and supporters. Some ride motorcycles but that is not a requirement. "Do you want to help others?" Graham asked. "Then you can join."
There are about 25 members in Kingston and the group is slowly spreading across the country with a few also in Washington, D.C.
"We have a great friendship," Graham smiled.
Graham found out about the memorial from his mother Dawna who lives in Trenton. Graham was in the Air Force for 20 years, joining in 1980. The group has set up a FaceBook page to help with the funding of the wall.
Mayor John Williams said the committee is just choosing a design now and will start to raise money soon. He expected a lot to come in just like this, from supporters. "I've had calls from all across Canada," he said. "Some are mothers of soldiers who died in Afghanistan."
He noted the location is Bain Park and will be a major project
QW Memorial Wall Committee
JEROME LESSARD / TRENTONIAN
Chris Graham, founder and national first officer of the Canadian Dispatch Rider group, presented a $500 cheque to Quinte West Mayor John Wiliams for the city's Afghanistan Memorial Wall project Monday. Graham was accompanied at city hall by his wife Dianna and a dozen Dispatch riders. "We want to help getting the message out about the Memorial Wall project," said Graham, who has served in the Canadian Forces for 20 years. "The project is now at the 'almost ready to go stage'," added Williams. "We are planning to finance this project without any government funding. So every donation like today's makes a difference. Thank you very much to all the 25 members of the Dispatch Rider group on behalf of the Memorial Wall Committee."
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Kristyn Wallace
EMC News - A local fundraiser and motorcycle enthusiast is gearing up for the ride of his life.
On August 11, Chris Graham will meet thousands of bikers as they roll into Kingston on the cross-Canada Motorcycle Ride for Dad. The next day, they'll head west on a journey that will take 17 days and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.
For Graham, who's been riding motorcycles for more than four decades, the trip is a chance to raise money and awareness while doing something that he loves.
"It's the best pill to clear your head," he says of riding.
Graham, a retired military cook, is very familiar with the concept of giving back. A few years ago, he started a weekly bike night in Kingston, where he collects food for Martha's Table. Last year alone, they donated 6,000 cans of food to charity.
Graham has similarly impressive fundraising goals for the upcoming Ride for Dad, which is marking its 10th anniversary with the cross-country trip. He's hoping to raise $5,000 in pledges, all of which will be donated to both prostate cancer research and the Military Families Fund. Money for the trip itself, including gas, food, and lodging, comes from the riders' pockets.
The ride is divided into stages, and the stretch between Kingston and Borden has been dubbed the Highway of Heroes stage. For Graham, who was born in Trenton and moved to Kingston in 1980 to join the military, the stage will be a particularly poignant part of the journey.
"This stage here - they're counting on it to be the biggest stage," Graham says, adding that spectators and supporters are expected to line the highway and overpasses to catch a glimpse of the thousands of passing motorcyclists. "There will be a military ceremony in Trenton where we honour fallen soldiers and the Ride for Dad itself."
Graham, who has two bikes, will ride his 1600 Nomad Kawasaki approximately 6,000 kilometres from Kingston to Victoria, BC. Throughout the journey, riders will travel between three and four hundred kilometres per day, stopping in dozens of towns along the way.
One of those towns is Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where Graham will get to see his friend and former boss, who is a prostate cancer survivor. His story, Graham says, is an inspiration, and a reminder that the disease affects everyone.
"It's a disease that people don't want to talk about," Graham says. "But the more positive awareness that's out there, the less embarrassing it is to talk about."
Those wising to show their support to the riders - and see Graham and other local participants before they depart - can do so at Kingston Bike & Classic Car Night on Wednesday, August 11. The group will gather in the A&W parking lot at highways 401 and 38 starting at 5:30 pm.
For more information on Graham and his charitable endeavours, visit www.ridefordadanniversary.org and www.kingstonbikenight.com.
30 May 2010 MRFD
Bike Night revs up for Kingston’s hungry
By Emma Taylor
Getting their daily serving of vegetables just got a little easier for Kingston’s hungry thanks to the folks at Wednesday night Bike Night. Bike Night is held at the Petro-Canada and A&W parking lot on Hwy. 38, starting at 6:30 p.m. It is part of the Cruisin’ the Dub program run by A&W, which combines classic cars, rock and roll and great food. And donated food. Chris Graham, aka “Sarge,” is a motorcycle enthusiast. He doesn’t like to be thought of as a biker which can have negative connotations. He said the group that comes out for Bike Night are families; husbands, wives,kids. “We are just a bunch of people from the community getting together, showing off our wares and our bikes.” His idea hatched when he happened to read an article about Martha’s Table and it got him thinking about collecting food donations. He went visited Martha’s Table and spoke to director Ronda Candy and told her his plan. Graham said the reason he decided to do it is very simple. “It has to do with food, and I’m a chef. At that particular time I was semi-retired and I was looking for something to do concerning food. Food is my love.” Candy thought it was a great idea and was impressed that the group took the initiative, organized it and followed through weekly. the result has been thousands of pounds of food. “We can have a whole meal depending on what they bring in, and one week’s gathering of food can feed 150 people, so it really does make a difference,” she said. Graham drives a 2008 Russian Ural and the sidecar is the perfect place for people to deposit their canned goods. As an incentive to get people to donate cans of food, donors given a coupon for each can they donate to win a door prize. The food gathered really does help keep the costs down at Martha’s Table while the numbers of people being fed and food costs increase. “That now gives us some impact on what we are doing for the community,” said Graham. Having a weekly theme where people can donate the canned the vegetable of the week makes it easier to plan menus, and the weekly vegetable is posted on the Website at www.kingstonbikenight.com. “When in doubt, bring canned tomatoes because you can use them anywhere,” said Graham. The event started with 25 bikes last year and has grown to 126 bikes and 140 cans of vegetables collected for one night. Since the project started, over 900 cans of food have been collected. The hot-rod car owners started coming three weeks ago once the weather was nice. Mark Snider, franchisee of A&W and Petro-Canada who has donated the parking lot for Bike Night, was quick to climb on the band wagon and help out the cause. “We were in the midst of looking to organize something such as this with our Cruisin’ the Dub program, but because it’s for a good cause it was a bit of a no-brainer
