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Fat Bloke And A Bike Does France

G’day all,I am an Australian army veteran who, after just under 17 years service, was medically discharged due to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) major depressive disorder and anxiety.

Recently I was given an opportunity to participate in the Big Battlefield Bike Ride 2018 (BBBR18) by mates4mates (a veterans charity who provide all different types of support to veterans), but due to a number of reasons this was canceled. I have, however, decided to still attend the BBBR18 and need your help with the fundraising.

Below is the full story of what has happened to this point...

To start at the very beginning I was registered with a veterans charity called mates4mates and approximately 4 months ago advertised for veterans to apply for the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom and Europe to participate in an event called the big battlefield bike ride 2018, which is the premier fundraising event for a UK veterans charity called help for heroes. Help for heroes invites mates4mates mates to put a group into the ride each year, for the 2018 ride there were 5 places allocated to mates4mates, 4 veterans and 1 staff member. Over 40 people applied to mates4mates for this event and after rigorous selection, including psychological screening and a 2 day final selection held in Brisbane, 4 people were selected to attend the ride and 1 reserve. I was one of the lucky ones to be selected.About 1 month after we were informed that we would be participating in the event with mates4mates, they contacted me to let me know know that mates4mates, for a variety of reasons, had decided to cancel their involvement in the big battlefield bike ride 2018, therefore leaving us without an event to participate in.

After I had digested this information I decided that the best way forward with my individual recovery was to still participate in the ride, however I now need funding. As a part of participating in the event we are required to raise £2750 and a registration fee of £230 which equates to about$5500 (depending on the exchange rate) just to be able to participate, plus travel to and from the UK, plus incidentals (transfers and accomodation). To cover the costs I would need to raise approximately $15,000 so I can participate in an event that I have all been shaping my life around for the last few months.

So you know who I am I have done my best at a biography below;

Hi, I’m Dane Greenstreet, I grew up in the hills of Dorrigo, NSW and at the ripe old age of 17 I decided to skip town and join the army. I spent the next 16 years 8 months and 1 day operating a variety of army watercraft, working in logistic positions and even a few years of instructing all over Australia and the world. I was deployed to East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Tonga (after a tsunami wiped some of their islands out) and the Middle East.

In 2014 I was diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety due to several incidents that happened during my service, I also discovered I had been living with this condition since 2002, undiagnosed.

In 2016, after a long period of sick leave, I was medically discharged and subsequently medically retired from any future employment (tpi gold card) at 35 years old.

Since this I have moved, with my family, to Australind, W.A, which is about 1 hour 45mins drive south of Perth and began attempting to settle into life after the military. This has not been as easy as it sounds and I have found it a struggle to find my way in my post Army life, so when I found out about the ride I jumped at the chance to be a part of a small team of like minded individuals. Once I was selected it instantly gave me drive and motivation to get myself moving again. I have maintained that motivation through the Christmas period and the year has kicked off well for me. I have maintained contact with the other blokes selected and they are all of a similar train of thought as me.

I have only been able to do all this with the support of my amazing wife, Angela and my two young boys, Taj 5 and Hamish 3. They have stuck with me through thick and thin and I am privileged to have them in my life.

That’s me in a nutshell. Now I am asking you to please help out and make a donation to help get me over there.

I will be spending donated money on the following;1. Event registration
2. Fundraising (as dictated by help for heroes)
3. Travel insurance (a requirement for the event)
4. Airfares (economy, unless Qantas sponsors me)
5. Accomodation (3-4 days in London each side of the event)
6. Transfers
7. Incidentals

I will provide receipts for everything to anyone who wants to see them as I will be 100% transparent with ALL of my transactions. Also any money I raise over the required amount I intend to donate to whiskeys wish who is a charity set up to provide veterans and first responders with service dogs, I have a dog in training through whiskeys wish.

Finally, I will be posting constant ride and fundraising updates on my Facebook page called fat bloke on a bike does France 18 so feel free to follow along the journey.

Thanks for reading and thanks for considering donating.

Dane Greenstreet

Donations 

  • Sonya Wagensveld
    • $150 
    • 6 yrs

Organizer

Dane Greenstreet
Organizer
Binningup WA

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