The NG Times Newspaper

This Saturday, Merrickville will once again be filled with motorcycles as part of the 4th annual Ride for Disabled Vets.

The bikers will start in Stittsville at 10 am and will travel in a 152km loop through surrounding townships of Merrickville, Perth and Beckwith. Merrickville will be the first stop on their journey.

The Ride for Disabled Vets began in 2014 when the founding four, Adwin “OJ” Gallant, Bud Ranger, JP Grenier and Larry Olsen, decided to put together a local motorcycle charity ride on behalf of Wounded Warriors Canada. The first ride met and surpassed their expectations as they were able to recruit almost 200 motorcyclists and raise over $7500 for the Wounded Warriors PTSD Recovery Program which trains and matches service dogs to veterans suffering with PTSD. “We wanted to put on a ride that brought awareness to the PTSD suffering of current and retired military members and communicate information of the success of service dogs in the treatment of PTSD,” OJ said.

Since the inaugural ride, the event has grown in popularity and every year they have raised more and more money to support Wounded Warrior’s PTSD service dog program. This year, the organizing team have decided to change charities to the Canada Veteran Service Dog Unit, which also provides service dogs to veterans with PTSD. The hope is that they will hit their target of 400 participants this year.

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