Financial planners create a brighter future for kids in need

Cyclists in the financial planning community can now register online to join the 2014 Future2 Wheel Classic. Their challenge is raise $100,000 by riding from Melbourne to Adelaide, 13-19 November, arriving to a reception on the eve of the FPA Professionals Congress.

Now in its fifth year, the Future2 Wheel Classic has become an iconic fundraising event both for the cyclists who take part and in the wider financial planning profession. Funds raised enable Future2 to make grants to community not-for-profits that give disadvantaged kids all over Australia a new start and hope for a better future.

“The Wheel Classic showcases the best of our profession. It’s about accepting a personal challenge that pushes the boundaries, doing the right thing as a professional, and creating better lives for those in need”, says Future2 Chair Steve Helmich.

Over $420,000 has been raised in the first four years of the ride from cyclists’ own fundraising efforts and corporate support. This year’s target is $100,000.

“The interest is already high, both from teams and individuals” says Ray Griffin, a founding trustee of Future2 who, with fellow trustee Peter Bobbin, was the inspiration for the event and rode in all four Future2 Wheel Classic events. “We’ve also had an expression of interest from Japan, so we may have our first international participant this year.”

A companion event, the Future2 Virtual Wheel Classic is open to those who cannot join the ride in November but are keen to cycle and raise funds in good cause. Cyclists ‘shadow’ the Wheel Classic route, or a part of it, in the gym or on the road at times of their choosing before 10 November.