Amazing Grace pedals to £750 charity target

A LOCAL foodbank volunteer has raised hundreds with a fundraising initiative that will see her cycle 150 miles.

Grace Wray, 29, launched her challenge last Thursday (May 7) and set a fundraising goal of £150 but has now raised over £600 in less than a week and is working towards a new target of £750.

All the funds raised will be donated to Inspire Middleton, which runs Middleton Central Foodbank as well as the Lighthouse Project.

Her cycling so far has taken her around some scenic local routes, including the canal path, Hopwood Hall and Chadderton Park.

Grace, a trainee solicitor, says she hadn’t owned a bike since she was a child until husband Dominic bought a pair for them for her birthday earlier in May and she felt inspired by lockdown to set herself a challenge.

She said: “I wanted to push myself and thought why not try and raise some money at the same time?

“The Lighthouse and foodbank do a lot of great work for our community and they are doing even more important work now, supporting people who could normally provide for themselves but can’t in the current situation.”

Grace added that she “couldn’t believe” the speed at which her fundraising targets had been reached, with her initial target practically being reached on the very first day of her challenge.

She said: “I posted about it on Facebook and we went for the first bike ride, got back and people had donated nearly £100.

“I took a shower and by the time I’d done that someone had donated another £45, so we’d nearly reached the target!

“That surprised me. I’ve got friends and family who I was sure would donate but there were people there who I didn’t even know!”

Grace now hopes to raise £1,000 by the time she aims to complete her challenge at the end of May.

The money is set to go towards the work done by the foodbank and the Lighthouse Project, which she has personal experience of as a volunteer.