When the Late Mail Postie Bike Ride was being put together for COVID-struck 2020, setting a new fundraising record seemed impossible, but as the numbers kept ticking over not only would this year prove to be the biggest it also passed the $1million mark for the history of the locally-grown charity event.
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The 2020 ride raised $232,000 for the not-for-profit Wings4Kidz, which provides free transport to medical treatment for children from regional areas, clearing the old record for a single year by $24,000. The route began in Hargraves, went to Parkes, Condobolin, Cobar, Bourke and Lightning Ridge, then back via Coonabarabran to Mudgee.
Organiser Jason Turner said that even though they were cautious, "everywhere we went was very welcoming and happy to see us". And while they reined in their expectations for fundraising, the result blew them away.
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"We were gobsmacked by the end of it, we just couldn't believe that people donated more money than previous years - while in this current climate. We didn't expect anything like that in our wildest dreams," he said.
Going into the seventh annual ride, if the 2020 fundraising figure was on par with recent years (around the $200,000 mark) it would take the total past $1million for the history of the event. And Jason said the exponential growth to reach that was something they didn't expect at the humble beginning.
"We first discussed it back in Christmas 2013, then went mapping in January 2014 and ran our first ride with about 23 bikes that year. We raised in excess of what we thought we thought we would raise back then and it's just grown from there, this was three times the amount of that first year," he said.
And added, "we've met a lot of people over those seven years that love every minute of what they do with the ride". With one of the reasons the event has been so well supported being the recognition of the work of Wings4Kidz, which was again brought home to the riders this year.
"People understand it, as soon as they learn about what the charity is they ask more questions and want to find out more. And the message is getting out there into the smaller communities that this service is available if they ever need it, and with us going to these places and promoting the charity it also raises the awareness," Jason said.
"[During the ride] we got to catch up with some of the families that'd used the flight service, seeing the appreciation in their faces and getting to meet the kids, you can see how much of a relief it is to them and the charity is a big part of their lives."
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