Darcey battles elements to give back to charity that helped grandad
She said it was hard and it was cold but it was for a good cause and to help people Mum Charlotte Robinson
SHE fought against the wind, rain and chilly temperatures to give back to the charity which helped her grandad during his cancer treatment.
Darcey Whiteford, aged eight, spent her Easter Monday raising hundreds of pounds for Daft as a Brush cancer patient care charity by cycling 6.3 miles along the North East coast.
The charity, which transports cancer patients to thousands of hospital appointments each year, made it possible for Darcey’s grandad to get to and from his chemotherapy treatment at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) following his bowel cancer diagnosis.
He is now in remission and will receive his last round of chemotherapy on Friday. But that didn’t deter Darcey from dedicating her time to organise and complete a sponsored bike ride for Daft as a Brush, raising £418 for the charity, which her dad Martin’s workplace, De La Rue, has pledged to match.
Darcey’s mum, Charlotte Robinson, said: “She’s an inspiration, I’m really proud of her. The fact that she came up with the idea and she wanted to do it. It was never us saying ‘would you like to do anything?’. It came from her kindness.”
It took Darcey 66 minutes to complete the cycling challenge from Roker beach car park to the amphitheatre at South Shields. And although the wet and windy weather caused challenging conditions, Darcey powered through by singing her favourite songs along the route to keep her motivated.
As she crossed the finish line with her dad and family and friends shortly after 11.30am there was an enormous sense of pride from Darcey and her family. She was then rewarded with an ice cream sundae from Minchella & Co.
Charlotte, from Washington, said: “She took it all in her stride and was singing away to herself – she did really well.
“She said it was hard and it was cold but it was for a good cause and to help people. She said she felt really proud that she was doing the bike ride for a charity. Her grandad is really proud of her and he was there [on Monday] cheering her along.”
Charlotte, 41, added: “Daft as a Brush is such a valued charity and it has been a huge support. It takes out the worry and extra stress that you’re already going through with such an invasive treatment.”