Riding for others like Desiree
Desiree Gallagher fell from a seven-storey building after being brutally beaten by a man she had just met.
The vivacious young woman was left blind, brain damaged and confined to a wheelchair.
In May 2015, two years after the horrific assault in London, Ont., she fell in to a coma and died. She was 23.
Gallagher’s devastated mother Susan Gerth found strength through the support she received from a victim services program in her native Brantford.
Over the past five years, she’s organized Desiree’s Ride, a charity motorcycle ride to honor the memory of her daughter and to raise funds for victim services organizations across Ontario.
The event has grown over the years and there are now three rides — Brantford, Chatham and Niagara Falls. Together, the rides have raised approximately $50,000.
On Saturday, about 50 riders participated in the Niagara Falls ride to raise money for Victim Services of Niagara and Women’s Place of South Niagara.
“The ride was just breathtaking,” Gerth said. “It was beautiful.”
This was the second year the ride has been held in Niagara.
“I’ve had situations in my life to use victim services so, to me, it was easy to say yes,” said Niagara Falls resident Ken Vander Eyken, one of the organizers of the local ride.
Randy Tracey, owner of Hellbound Customs in Brantford, has participated in every ride since 2015.
“Originally, we sponsored the ride and donated a prize but, for some reason, I felt compelled to ride it,” he said.
“How could I not be a part of it? It’s a great cause that needs people to support it.”