Matthew Richards was worried that his goal of fundraising enough money in three months to buy 100 children a bike for Christmas was too ambitious.
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A week into the fundraising drive, and his Facebook friends and customers at Launceston’s MPR Sharpening have already donated enough for 97 bikes.
Now it seems like his biggest concern will be fitting all of the bikes they are able to purchase by Christmas into his workshop.
“It’s insane,” he said. “We’ll have to do something really crazy next year.”
The project came about when Mr Richards was stuck coming up with present ideas for his parents for Christmas last year.
Instead of buying them something they would probably just throw away, he decided to donate 10 bikes to the Kmart Wishing Tree on their behalf.
His Facebook post about his idea garnered over 500 likes, many from strangers. So he decided to do the same thing again this year, on a larger scale.
The bikes will be distributed through local schools, the Launceston General Hospital, the Launceston Women’s Shelter, and other organisations that can put the bikes in the hands of children in need.
It was watching how much his own son, Max, loves his bike that made Mr Richards and his wife, Kristie, realise how sad it was that there were many children without their own.
“At the end of the day, these kids have never lived their life, they’ve never had their chance, they’ve been put in a predicament through no fault of their own, and that’s why I want to do something,” he said.
Donations for the appeal to Matthew Richards, BSB 807009, Account 12274825 or by calling 0448 528 920.