BENGALURU: Cycling for a cause for the fifth time since 2013, Jasmeet Singh is all set to do another cyclothon from Mumbai to Bengaluru starting on November 30. The IT professional had embarked on his first solo cyclothon for the NGO Iksha Foundation, a public charitable trust which works towards spreading awareness about retinoblastoma (a rare malignant tumour of the retina, affecting young children) and he raised `25 lakh for the foundation.
One of the highlights of his upcoming eight-day trip is that Jasmeet will be accompanied by 30 others from Mumbai and 20 from Belgaum’s Karnataka Police Force with 10 women and 10 men. “I wanted to do something that will create an impact. So I thought of raising funds for primary education of girls at the Udbhav School, which is run by IIMA Alumni Association, Hyderabad,” he said. The campaign will also raise funds for Gautam Gambhir Foundation to support children of the martyrs.
“I have been training for over a month and a half for this trip. Every year, the challenge is to get going despite the physical and mental strain. The first two days of cycling is out of excitement and that’s when the pain kicks in,” he pointed out.
In 2014, he did a trip from Mumbai to Delhi followed by trips from Mumbai to Hyderabad and from Hyderabad to Vishakhapatnam. “We raised `80 lakh and a company sponsored `1 crore in the last three years. We are hoping to raise `2 crores this year.”
The cyclothon started is part of Ummed Cyclothon – all for a cause, a CSR initiative by different corporates. “We do interact with people on the way. Some interactions are unplanned, we might also visit a school for a meet and greet with them if we find any during our trip,” he said. He said that his family has been a great support. “My wife has been playing a huge role in fundraising. The fund raised will directly go to the NGOs and transparency will be maintained,” he added.
On December 10, there will be a closing ceremony of the event in Bengaluru. The venue is yet to be decided.