Insight Series - What, How, Why, Who - part 4

Welcome to the final part of our Insight Series where we explore the inner workings of R.A.C. What we do, how we do it, why we do it and who does it!

In this part we are going to delve into the growth of R.A.C. How it started, what the future might hold, and how we will go about achieving that.

R.A.C started through the vision of one man - our Founder and current National President, Danny Harrison. Without him R.A.C quite simply would not exist! It was through wanting to make a difference, his vision and implementation of that, that kick started it all. Running now for 2 1/2 years R.A.C has grown at an incredible rate, much faster than we thought.

Branching out into our beautiful country was, and will always remain, a goal of R.A.C's. Going International is the ultimate!! The fact that we now have 3 branches (1 located in the lower North Island, 2 in the South Island) is testament to how the vision of R.A.C is spreading. The more we spread the word about what we do, and what we stand for, the more R.A.C will grow. Each and every one of us plays an important part in this. We want to be able to lend a helping hand and give support to as many organisations and people as we can. While we are fundamentally about raising funds to pass onto cancer organisations, we also care a great deal about our members. We have R.A.C welfare policies and procedures in place for when our own members, or their families, need a helping hand. We welcome our members to reach out to us.

So how do we go about growing R.A.C? As mentioned above, by spreading the word - about what we do, why we do it, and how we do it. Making connections with people, supporting other cancer fundraising events, wearing our merchandise and sharing our Facebook posts are some of the ways we can all help in the growth of R.A.C.

What happens when a new branch is formed? In the case of our two most recent branches, the National Committee were approached by the people that are now the Branch Presidents. What followed on from there was a series of meetings, not only to get to know the people better, but to also make sure their vision matched that of R.A.C's. It is very important to have the right people in the right roles for it all to work. Each branch is run under the same set of rules and formatting as each other, and ultimately overseen by the National Committee. Doing it this way, not only makes the organisational aspects easier, but also ensures that R.A.C is represented the same way, no matter the branch location.

Our branch operations are overseen by our Branch Co-ordinator, who is our current National Vice President. It is his job to keep tabs on how they are doing, help them with any problems and direct them to the right people if they need help. He then reports all branch matters back to the National Committee.

Life would sometimes be easier if we had a crystal ball to tell us what the future might hold (but would we really want to know?) In R.A.C's case the future looks great! We have a huge amount of support, which continues to grow, and fantastic members from all over the country coming together for the good of a common cause. With any type of rapid growth, there are quite often steep learning curves. Sometimes mistakes happen, or something is not done in quite the right way. What we can take from this, when it happens, is that we change to doing things better, or in a better way. It is all part of learning.

The vision of R.A.C is something that will never change, regardless of where our branches are, or who we have onboard. We will always strive to be bigger, be better, and to make as big as an impact on the lives of as many people as we can. We want R.A.C to become a recognisable name throughout the world!! We are passionate about what we do, driven to making a difference, and will continue to be so.

As this is the last part of our Insight Series, we hope that you have enjoyed reading them and feel as though you know a little more about the inner workings of R.A.C. The committees are always willing to answer any questions you may have, and we encourage you to contact them if you do.

We thank you all for your continued support and help in the growth of R.A.C. And most importantly for helping us all Make a Difference. We hope you'll continue this journey with us.

As always - Ride safe