David Gray’s incredible birthday fundraiser

We want to say a huge thank you to Countryside Mobility member David Gray, who raised an outstanding £1,005 as part of a birthday fundraiser to celebrate his 60th birthday.

As an avid birdwatcher and lover of the great outdoors David has always been a regular visitor to RSPB Arne, as well as beauty spots around the South West. In 2016 David was taken seriously ill, and his illness led to a loss of mobility.

This meant that in 2018, back at RSPB Arne, David tried for the first time a Countryside Mobility scooter, known as a Tramper. Designed to tackle uneven ground David found that the all-terrain Tramper meant that he could enjoy the tracks, scenery and wildlife at the nature reserve, and explore much further than his own scooter could cover. This led to David joining the Countryside Mobility scheme, and using his membership to visit other hire locations, as well as continuing to visit firm favourite RSPB Arne many more times.

Fast forward to 2023, when David decided to do something very special for the scheme and raise money to celebrate his 60th! David explains:

“In the words of Blur…Trampers give me an enormous sense of wellbeing! They enable me to do something I enjoy.“

“When it came to my birthday I knew I didn’t need gifts. I am associated with many charities and I knew I wanted to do something close to my heart. My family and friends know how much I enjoy the countryside. So, I suggested instead of any gifts, if they might like to give a donation to Living Options. It could provide more Trampers or help with the cost of running the existing fleet. My dream is to see more Trampers available for people like me who are disabled but who love the countryside.”

By his 60th birthday party celebrations David had exceeded his target of £500, he went on to share with a Twitter group he is actively part of and was delighted to reach £1,000 following further support from online friends and people who heard about his fundraiser. David’s closing fundraising amount was an incredible total of £1,005.

We can’t thank David enough for both his, and his family and friends’ generosity. As a charity we rely on donations and grants to keep schemes like Countryside Mobility operating. The money raised by David will be used to provide a number of free ‘Try a Tramper’ hires at RSPB Arne, along with maintaining and providing the Countryside Mobility scheme across the South West for people to experience and enjoy.

Our Countryside Mobility website has full details about the scheme and the all-terrain mobility Trampers and how to hire. Alternatively, if you have been inspired by David to raise money for Living Options Devon we’d love your support, please visit our fundraising pages or get in touch with our fundraising team.