Ride for Raja returns to help kids in need across Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon

Motorcycle enthusiasts will hit the road next month to honour the memory of a fallen rider to raise funds for children’s programs in Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon, and maybe win a Harley in the process.

The 12th-annual Ride for Raja will run in June to celebrate the life of Mandeep Singh “Raja” Cheema, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in September 2022. The ride is back in Brampton after moving to Mississauga, and Raja’s family hopes to raise $100,000 this year with the help of a Harley Davidson giveaway.

All funds donated to the ride go to the Peel Children’s Aid Foundation and support post-secondary funding for kids exiting the foster care system, with some $500,000 collected.

This year the ride will mark what would have been Raja’s 50th birthday, and Gill says the foundation has partnered with Harley Davidson Mississauga to giveaway a 2024 Softail Standard. The raffle will hopefully drive even more riders to sign up and help the ride hit a goal of raising $100,000 this year.

“He was very nice, very giving, very caring brother and Bramptonian,” Raja’s sister and president of the Mandeep Singh Cheema Charitable Foundation, Navdeep Gill, told council on Wednesday, adding that the ride is the family’s way of keeping his memory and spirt of giving alive.

The city named a street after Raja in 2019 which will soon be home to a new community that includes a home owned by Raja’s family.

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Donations can range from $25 to $250 with the foundation saying 100 per cent of the funds go to Peel Children’s Aid. Raja’s family pay for all costs out-of-pocket and have requested the city wave required fees for the ride so more money can go to the charity.

The 12th-annual Ride for Raja runs on June 23 and starts at the Snelgrove Community Centre at 10:30 a.m. For more information visit www.rideforraja.ca.