A DETERMINED young boy from a village near Lutterworth has saddled up to raise £1,650 for a children’s charity by cycling 40 miles.
Seven-year-old Rowan McDonnell from Gilmorton rode eight laps around Draycote Water to raise funds for Action for Children – smashing his £1,000 target in the process.
He took on the ‘Cycle Extreme’ challenge in memory of his great-grandad Gordon, who passed away in May.
The kind-hearted kid has also been selling some of his prized collection of football cards to raise more funds for the charity.
Rowan said: “I had some good friends and family supporting me on the day.”
Rowan said: “I had some good friends and family supporting me on the day.
“I love cycling. It’s probably my favourite thing to do.”
He said he wanted to raise money for children who are not as lucky as him.
“I think that loads of other people should do other challenges like mine,” he added, “because if everyone does a challenge in their life then no child will ever be without a home or food.
“I hope others choose to help charities so that every child in the world has somewhere safe to live and food to eat.
“I hope I have inspired other people.”
He said he was ‘a bit nervous’ ahead of the challenge, but his training had stood him in good stead.
Proud mum Emma said: ‘We are so incredibly proud of Rowan and how dedicated he has been to practicing.
‘When we first set up his JustGiving page, I thought we would reach a few hundred pounds, but Rowan was dead set on £1,000.
“We are thrilled to have reached it and so thankful to everyone for their support.”
Visit www.justgiving.com/page/rowanscycleextreme to donate to Rowan’s fund-raising campaign.
Visit www.actionforchildren.org.uk for more information on Action for Children.
