A father and group of friends will dress up as grandmas and ride scooters from Liverpool to Manchester to raise money for his disabled daughter.
Darren Bailey, 49, and his “scooter-grannies” have searched charity shops for their hilarious outfits for the challenge that will see them travel from Anfield to Old Trafford.
It’s all in favor of Darren’s daughter.
Freya Bailey of Irlam, Salford, was born with two holes in her heart and suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
The 10-year-old, who uses a wheelchair every day of her life, has already struggled through four major surgeries.
Darren with daughter Freya
She underwent a selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) on her spine in January 2018 at a cost of £ 16,000.
She still suffers from tension and cramps in her muscles.
Her physical therapy, which is not available at the NHS, costs around £ 1,000 a month.
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On the subject of matching items
Darren came up with the idea for the Roller Grannies in 2016 to raise money for the operation that relieved Freya’s pain a lot.
Now he has to raise even more money for ongoing physiotherapy, which will help her stay mobile and continue to ride and swim with her adapted bike.
She may also need another operation on her hips.
Put on fun outfits for the group and ride on scooters
“I was originally thinking of some kind of event where we would dress up as superheroes, but my friend Olive, who is 80 years old, said, ‘Everyone does that, why don’t you dress up as grandmas?'” He said.
“So I went to the charity store, bought some outfits, and Scooter Grannies was born.”
In the past few years Darren and his colleagues have driven from Irlam to Blackpool, Irlam to Chester and Huddersfield to Irlam.
This year’s Challenge, traveling 52 miles from iconic Liverpool and Manchester stadiums, takes place on Saturday June 26th.
Darren is hoping to raise around £ 5,000 from 20 local companies sponsoring the race to keep paying for Freya’s physical therapy.
“Freya is going to need physical therapy indefinitely, so I need to keep thinking of innovative ways to raise money for her and keep people interested.
“Scooter Grandmas is great fun and makes the people who see us laugh too, I hope.”
Freya, pictured with Papa Darren, needs intensive physiotherapy after an operation that costs 1,000 months a month
On Freya’s fundraising page, he said, “Help us give her the childhood she deserves and allow her to keep riding her tricycle, something every child or adult should be lucky enough to experience and enjoy to enjoy.
“Every donation, large or small, will change Freya’s life.”
Darren and his supporters are also interested in raising funds for other local families with children with disabilities. Therefore, this year any money raised along the route will go to support Michelle Vincent and her son Kaiden, 16, who has Angelman Syndrome. Michelle started a group for local carers @ M44 and Darren is also a member.
The latest challenge is for them to travel 32 miles from Liverpool to Old Trafford
The family is supported by the Tree of Hope charity.
Gill Gibb, director of the charity, said, “We are excited to help with Freya’s fundraising and Scooter Grannies is certainly an innovative event!
“We wish Darren all the best.”
Click here to view and donate Freya’s funds.
