Brave bikers to complete 24-hour journey for charity

Four Blackcountry Bikers are looking for motorbike enthusiasts to join them on their challenge to complete a 1,000 mile journey around the UK in just 24 hours to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Ronald McDonald House Charities is an independent charity that provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation at hospitals across the UK. The Charity enables seriously ill children to have their families close by when they are undergoing treatment and allows them to maintain a degree of normal family life.

Matt Davies from Stourbridge, West Midlands, has been fundraising for Ronald McDonald House Charities for a number of years, but this will be his toughest challenge yet.

In a race against time, Matt will travel to each of the 14 Ronald McDonald Houses situated next to children’s hospitals, with the aim to complete the trip within 24 hours. Matt will set off from Ronald McDonald House Birmingham in the early hours of Tuesday 20 September with his wife, Bev, and two friends Mark and Steph Smith.

Bikers around the country are encouraged to join them on their 24-hour challenge, and can start at any of the houses across the UK: www.rmhc.org.uk/our-houses/.

Matt was one of many bikers that started fundraising for Ronald McDonald House Birmingham after a fellow rider lost his son following a serious illness in 2013. Whilst being treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital his parents were able to stay at the Birmingham House to be close to their son.

Since then, Matt and other bikers bring donations of household objects to the House every Christmas and at Easter, 150 big-hearted bikers rode from Halesowen to Birmingham Children’s hospital with gifts for patients, and vital supplies for Ronald McDonald House Birmingham.

Matt says: “The work Ronald McDonald House Charities does to give families the chance to remain close to their child whilst they are in hospital is invaluable, and they provide so much for families staying at the Houses. We are hoping to get some more bikers signed up to the challenge to raise as much money as possible.”

House Manager at Ronald McDonald House Birmingham, Libby Aston, says: “We are so grateful to Matt for the fundraising he’s done over the years and it would be great to have more people join him on his latest challenge. Fundraising by our supporters allows us to continue to keep our doors open for others who need our ‘home away from home’ in the future.”

To sign up to the bike marathon contact Matt Davies via the Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/events/1714566825486347/?ti=icl.

Progress of their journey will be posted via their Facebook page http://bit.ly/2cU8nJF and to donate go to their JustGiving page, visit: http://bit.ly/2csPT4P.

To find out more about Ronald McDonald House Charities, visit: www.rmhc.org.uk.

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Notes to editors:

1. Ronald McDonald House Birmingham is run by Ronald McDonald House Charities – an independent charity that provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation at hospitals across the UK. It enables seriously ill children to have their families close by when they are undergoing treatment and allows them to maintain a degree of normal family life.

2. Ronald McDonald House Birmingham has 66 bedrooms and also offers a communal lounge, kitchen and play area for families. In 2015, it helped 1,274 families stay close to their children being treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

3. There are 14 Ronald McDonald Houses in the UK and in 2015 they helped support over 7,000 families with children in hospital.

4. Ronald McDonald House Charities relies on the generosity of supporters and fundraisers, including McDonald’s customers, without whom it would be unable to continue its work.

5. The Charity was founded in 1989 and has been keeping families together for more than 25 years.