Laura's Ride for Relief - May 2025

Hello, I‘m Laura Beacs! On May 1st 2025 I will set out on a 4 week bike ride for charity. I aim to ride 4.000 km and fundraise 4.000 Euros for the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

The “WHY”:

Beginning February 26, 2025, the US Department of State terminated thousands of foreign aid grants and contracts, effectively crippling foreign assistance. These funding freezes come at a massive humanitarian cost and have -already- directly impacted the critical aid work of charities such as the International Relief Committee (IRC). The IRC is on the ground in crisis-zones like Lebanon, Gaza and Sudan providing urgent care to those who need it most.

I find the decision to freeze foreign aid hard to deal with and comprehend. Relief projects were suspended overnight and people were left without healthcare, nutrition and emergency aid services. I was shocked and felt helpless to do something. It seems impossible in the current political and economical climate to do anything about it, right? It would be much easier to close ones’s eyes and pretend like it’s not happening, but it is and I can’t.

Why the IRC?

Whilst there are MANY aid projects affected by the aid cuts, I chose the IRC as the charity for this fundraiser because they directly make a difference for people in crisis-zones. The charity is transparent about which relief projects are supported and how the funds are used. I like that you can “follow” your donations and track how they are distributed. This makes me feel like fundraising efforts from individuals can actually make a difference. 

The “HOW”:

With my legs, baby! I will cycle 4,000 kilometres on a standard city bike in 4 weeks across Central and Eastern Europe. I will be camping, staying in hostels, couch-surfing and I will also be making all of my equipment myself or sourcing second-hand.

The important bit:

ALL donations raised via this GoFundMe will be directly transferred to the IRC Deutschland gGmbH. This is the German branch of the IRC and a registered non-profit charity.

No part of this fundraiser will be used to fund my travel, trip or equipment!