Pushbike Paul’s recycling raises £25k for hospice
AN innovative bike recycling scheme has raised more than £25,000 for the Treetops Hospice Care charity.
The scheme is the brainchild of Treetops volunteer Paul Wilcox, known affectionately as ‘Pushbike Paul’.
Paul, 65, from Breaston, collects donated bikes from the area, makes them roadworthy, then sells them, in return for a donation to the hospice.
Since the scheme began 18 months ago, Paul has recycled and sold well over 1,000 bikes, raising more than £25,000 for Treetops, which provides nursing care and emotional support for adults with life-limiting conditions and those who have been bereaved.
Life-long bike enthusiast Paul explained: “From being a child, I have always been interested in how bikes work and was often rescuing old bikes to renovate. Needs must in those days, as you couldn’t afford to buy new! The challenge remains to restore any unwanted bikes and give them a new home.
“We receive a whole range of donations, some of which we thought were scrap, have turned out to be very collectable.
“We’ve also received some extremely generous donations of almost brand-new bikes.
“Some of the bikes need far too much work to tackle and we are very fortunate to have a friend who will buy them to renovate himself. Nothing goes to waste. Parts are stripped and saved, and any remnants weighed in for scrap.
“We have a great team of volunteers which keeps everything running. My wife, Pauline, has been a volunteer at Treetops for 11 years and she helps with the admin, which can be pretty time consuming.
“The sheer quantity of donations – we often collect in excess of 20 bikes at a time – now means that we regularly carry out collections in the Treetops minibus, which Pauline can drive.
“Our close friend Margaret Gregory deals with all the sales, which are done via Facebook Marketplace. It’s no mean feat for a lady well into her 70s – she is often dealing with sales, cleaning bikes and so on, late into the evening and early morning!
“David, a neighbour, helps me with the mechanical refurbishment and another friend, Sam, recognises if bikes are worth more for their spare parts – we’ve rasied over £3,000 alone from this.”
Paul is staggered with the success of the scheme. “Raising over £25,000 is way beyond anything we anticipated in the early days of the scheme. Fortunately, during lockdown, the sale of bikes was encouraged and we were able to continue and flourish during that time.
“We get to meet so many lovely people who are happy that either their old bike, or their donation, is going to such a worthwhile cause.”
Treetops deputy community relationships manager, Cheryl Morris, said: “We absolutely cannot thank Pushbike Paul enough. He really is a part of the Treetops family.
“Paul has made the bike recycling scheme a part of his life, putting smiles on peoples’ faces of those who can buy a new bike knowing the proceeds are helping those who need it the most.
“The scheme has so many benefits to all involved and we couldn’t continue to provide our vital care for the local community without exceptionally lovely people like Paul – thank you!”
The Bike Recycling scheme accepts bikes and trikes of any age, condition and size and local collection is available. To donate a bike, email details to Paul at pushbikepaul4treetops@gmail. com.
Treetops is doing all it can to continue to support those in most need. The hospice welcomes donations to their Treetops Covid-19 Appeal to ensure the future of the hospice and its services.
Donations can be made at treetopshospice.org.uk/appeal