Burbage Charity Bikes support Breast Cancer UK

What started out as a ‘crazy dad idea’ in lockdown, to refurbish unwanted bikes to raise money for charity, has since transformed into a hugely successful project which has now pledged to support Breast Cancer UK.

Steve Daly’s daughter, Jess, was due to run the London Marathon in 2020 to raise money for blood cancer charity, Cure Leukaemia. However, as the pandemic sent the UK into lockdown and all group sporting activities were cancelled or postponed, the family started brainstorming ways to top up Jess’ JustGiving page. And Burbage Charity Bikes was born.

Steve, a retired IT manager and HGV driver, said: “Jess had done all her training and had just done a cold, wet and windy 20 mile run on a Sunday morning. But when she got home, she had an email to say the marathon was cancelled. She came to our house in the afternoon and, as you can imagine, she was very upset. We were thinking of other ways to fundraise and came up with refurbishing and then selling donated bikes. I would describe it as a crazy dad idea to begin with. But we put it on the local Facebook page and said we wanted to raise £2,620, £100 per mile of the marathon. It’s just grown from there.”

 ‘No bike is turned away’ 

Steve, 68, added: “We were in a bubble with Jess and her now husband Max, who is also mechanically minded. We set up socially distanced workstations under a gazebo, started repairing donated bikes and advertising on Facebook. People would come round on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays to start with. We were selling kids bikes, adult bikes, all sorts – and it just took off.”

All bikes are donated to the project and no bike is turned away, as often even the worst bike can be stripped for parts. When each bike arrives at the workshop, provided free by a local businessman, it is cleaned, serviced or repaired, and then sold. 100% of the money is given to charity. All people are catered for, from children’s balance bikes to carbon fibre adult’s road bikes. There are around 120 bikes in stock at any given time, all fully serviced and ready to go.

Operating since April 2020, Burbage Charity Bikes has so far sold around 3,000 bikes and raised more than £200,000 for charity. For the next 12 months, Breast Cancer UK will be the project’s charity partner. They aim to raise around £30,000 for us.

 ‘We share so many of the same values’ 

Charity-minded Steve said: “When we started looking for a new charity to support, we found Breast Cancer UK. It ticked a huge number of our boxes. We are really excited to be in partnership with you, as we share so many of the same values. It really was a no brainer for us. What you’re trying to do, is what we’re trying to do – especially around encouraging people to be more active. We’re able to offer people bikes at bargain prices and to be active.”

This October, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Breast Cancer UK is calling on people to get active to reduce their risk of breast cancer while also raising money for the charity. Studies show that by increasing your physical activity, you can significantly reduce your risk by as much as 20%.

The Daly family, who all live in Burbage near Leicester, give their time for free and use their own money to buy any missing parts needed for the bikes. Steve’s wife Liz takes care of the social media, stocklists, organises the sales and volunteer rotas. Plus, importantly, ‘bakes the sausage rolls for the volunteers who help at the bike sales!’, said Steve.

Bike sales are held twice a month at the village Methodist Church, and other community events throughout the year. They are advertised on its Facebook page, which also showcases some of the latest stock. Bikes start from about £25 with each bike sold for about a third of the price of a new bike.

 ‘None of us anticipated being where we are today’ 

The project focuses on minimizing waste. The team sells any donated bikes that cannot be brought back to life to an organization in Africa, which uses parts like saddles and pedals to create refurbished bikes. They also donate all the money earned from the sales to Burbage Charity Bikes’ chosen charity.

Steve added: “When Burbage Charity Bikes started in April 2020, none of us anticipated being where we are today. All of this has been possible due to the amazing support from the local and wider community, and all our wonderful volunteers. We couldn’t do this without their support.”

To donate a bike to Burbage Charity Bikes and find out bike sale details visit its Facebook page. You can donate to Burbage Charity Bike’s fundraiser here.

Want to get active and raise money for Breast Cancer UK during Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Click here for more information.

Check out our fundraising page for inspiration on the ways you can support Breast Cancer UK throughout the year.

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