Mum floored as public fund trip to see daughter represent GB
BROTHER HELD SECRET FUND-RAISER TO HELP COVER GERMANY TRIP FOR GYMNAST EUROS
A MUM from Nottingham has been left ‘overwhelmed’ after a fund-raiser was set up to allow her to go to Germany to watch her gymnast daughter compete.
Cara Davies’ brother set up a Gofundme page in order to raise money to pay for his sibling to go to the European Gymnastics Championships in Munich.
Cara’s 14-year-old daughter, Grace Davies, is competing for Great Britain in the championships in August.
Grace started gymnastics when she was six and now competes on various apparatus – including bars, beam, vault and floor.
The gymnast has been selected to represent Great Britain in Germany, but her mum was unable to afford to travel with her. Grace had already competed at two international competitions without her mum, and Cara didn’t want to miss out again.
The fund-raiser was set up by their family to allow the mum and daughter, who are from Stoke Bardolph, to go together.
Cara, 45, said: “I did not know anything about it, he didn’t want to tell me in case they didn’t raise the funds. He didn’t want to get my hopes up, but he had to say because my older daughter needed a passport so they had no choice to tell me.”
She added: “I have never missed a competition in my life, she has been competing since she was six and I have never missed one. Obviously as a single parent with three children I have not been able to go to any of her internationals yet. It is quite disappointing when you can’t go and watch, especially when she is competing for the country.
“There’s five girls going out to the championships in Germany and I know at least three of them have their parents going. It’s hard because she knows I struggle with the fees anyway and all the toing and froing to get her there, she understands that I can’t do it all. I think it does bother her, but she doesn’t let on.”
Cara said: “I did sit and cry when they told me. You just get it in your head that you can’t go. It’s hard times, as it is for everybody, so for even people to donate a fiver, the generosity, I am so overwhelmed by it all. She is happy that I will hopefully be going.”
On the fund-raiser, Cara’s brother Chris wrote: “I’m crowd funding to help her mum travel to watch her. Her mum is a single parent who sacrifices so much for Grace to compete. We would like to surprise her with flights, accommodation and tickets to watch Grace compete.
“This will be Grace’s third foreign trip representing GB and they are the only events her mum has missed. It would mean the world to her to watch Grace at the European Championships.”
So far, £750 has been raised out of a target of £1,100. The Championships take place from August 11 to 21. The fundraiser can be found at www. gofundme.com