Five-year-old Betty-Leigh Allinson completed her final fundraising bike ride last week, having collected more than £25,000 for Letchworth-based Garden House Hospice.
The superstar Codicote fundraiser has smashed her initial target of £500 – which all began after her family’s Disneyland trip was cancelled at the beginning of lockdown in March.
Betty-Leigh’s Nanny works at the Hospice, so when she found out that they were struggling due to the coronavirus, the charitable champion wanted to help her nanny ‘make people better’.
This young fundraiser’s journey began with a humble £7 she had previously saved up, which went towards kickstarting her JustGiving fundraising page.
She would cycle a mile a day, and would wear a different donated football shirts each ride, with clubs across the country pitching in to help.
Last Thursday, Betty-Leigh and her family were greeted by TV cameras and cheered on by celebrity supporters including Perry Groves, Alfie Burden and Dan Ballard.
As Betty-Leigh proclaimed this the “best day of [my] life”, her family summed up their thoughts.
Mrs Allinson said: “We’re all really quite emotional today and so proud, really proud.
“The £25,000 was her dream target as that’s what the Hospice is losing every week, but remember, that’s only a week’s funding, we will definitely keep the fundraising page open for a while as every little helps.”
In total, Betty-Leigh cycled 100 miles over a period of 100 days, all in aid of Letchworth-based Garden House Hospice.
The money raised will go towards the hospice’s urgent coronavirus appeal, which will plug some of the projected £1.3 million gap in COVID–related losses.
Enroute to her final cycle, Betty-Leigh received public outpourings of praise, including an Inter Miami football shirt and video message of support from former England star David Beckham.
READ MORE: David Beckham sends support to hospice heroIn his message, Becks said: “I can’t believe you are still going a mile every day on that bike, you are going to be so fit and raise so much money.
“Keep going, we’re all so proud of you, you are so, so amazing!”
You can still donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/bettyleighallinsonamileaday
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