Lime e-bike and e-scooter riders in Kelowna can now support young adult mental health just by rounding up the cost of their ride.
Lime announced today it has selected Third Space Charity as its first Canadian partner in the Lime Hero charitable fundraising program. Lime Hero is a community empowerment program that allows riders to round up the cost of their rides to support a local community organisation.
The decision to choose Third Space Charity as the newest partner recipient comes after the company worked with the charity during GoByBikeWeek in May, and subsequently donated $5,000.
“We were so impressed with the good work Third Space Charity is doing for young adult mental health and resilience in Kelowna, we wanted to find a way to support their vision and commitment in an ongoing way following our successful partnership during Go By Bike Week,” says Sonia Kandola, Director of Government Relations from Lime. “We hope selecting Third Space Charity as our Lime Hero partner in Kelowna helps highlight the issue of mental health in the community, while raising money for an important cause.”
Third Space Charity offers high-level training to the clinical counselors of tomorrow, and accessible supportive care counselling to young adults. Last year the charity trained 16 practicum students ,and provided more than 1,800 hours of counselling to 433 clients who might not otherwise have been able to access mental health support.
“We’re delighted to partner with Lime to promote active transportation and raise money for our work building capacity and supporting community,” says Third Space Charity executive director Karen Mason. “We know that getting out on a bike or scooter is a great way to get exercise and fresh air, while supporting a healthier planet, and better mental health overall, so this partnership is truly a win win!”
To date, more than 85,000 Lime Hero riders have raised more than $380,000 for a variety of non-profit organisations around the world. Through partnerships with more than 50 organisations in more than 90 cities globally, the program has helped fund projects with a focus on clean-air, safe streets, youth and community programming, services for those experiencing homelessness, and more.
Riders in Kelowna just have to tap the “Donate” button in the menu of the Lime app to join the program, and round up the cost of their ride. The cost of each trip they take will round up to the nearest dollar, with the difference donated to Third Space Charity.
Since Lime launched in Kelowna in April 2021, over 120,000 riders have taken nearly 700,000 trips on Lime e-bikes and e-scooters, traveling almost 1.2 million kilometers. By shifting trips away from cars, Lime riders have helped keep an estimated 140,000 car trips off the road, saving an estimated 72 metric tons of carbon emissions as well as 30,000 litres of gas. Lime is proud to have worked hand in hand with the city of Kelowna and all its local partners to continually improve its service to the city, focus on safe riding and proper parking. Lime is currently running a comprehensive outreach and education program to ensure riders know and follow the rules of the road and park properly when they finish their ride, minimizing street clutter and inconvenience to non-riders.