Help Gary & his young son reclaim their dream
Donation protected
Hi my name is John Mills I have come here to ask for people's help & generosity to raise money for a good friend of mine after a criminal & con-man robbed him & his son of their dream.
Let me start by saying Gary is a proud stubborn man who would never ask for financial help...so I hope he doesn't stay mad at me for long!
This is Luke.
When Luke was young he got very sick & shortly after was diagnosed with leukemia. At this point Luke's future was uncertain,
Thankfully with the care of Sheffield's children's hospital, Luke's unwavering courage & determination & loving support of his family he went on to make a full recovery, although this left him a little introverted.
Then about 3 years ago Luke's dad Gary decided to buy his
1st motorcycle in 32 years,
Gary was informed he had most probably been the victim of an organised criminal gang & they would not be able to recover his money!
He's lost it all!
Every penny he had.
So now they have No Money, No Bike & No Chance of getting another bike for them to continue their journey together!The hardest part for me and the thing that made me have to try something to make this right,
Is When my friend stood there with a lump in his throat & said to me
Any donations will be greatffully received, there is no such thing as not enough, what you think may make no difference to you will help make a world of difference to me, but most of all to my dear friend and his boy
Let me start by saying Gary is a proud stubborn man who would never ask for financial help...so I hope he doesn't stay mad at me for long!
This is Luke.
When Luke was young he got very sick & shortly after was diagnosed with leukemia. At this point Luke's future was uncertain,
Thankfully with the care of Sheffield's children's hospital, Luke's unwavering courage & determination & loving support of his family he went on to make a full recovery, although this left him a little introverted.
Then about 3 years ago Luke's dad Gary decided to buy his
1st motorcycle in 32 years,
An old Yamaha XJ900
Luke instantly took an interest & it was clear it was the start of something special between father & son.
Even though Luke moaned about the constant vibration and not being able to feel his feet, "he used to dance about like a lunatic whenever he got off trying to get some sensation back" it was comical. he still loved nothing more than being out on the bike with his dad & soon began to emerge from his shell, So shortly after Gary decided to upgrade to something a little more modern & more comfortable for Luke A BMW FT 800
but being 6'2 Gaz found this a little cramped for him on the longer rides.
Over the last year they had spoke about their plans to start touring, starting with the Scottish NC 500 this summer if lockdown lifted!
What Luke didn't know is that it wouldn't be on the FT 800
It would be on something a lot more comfortable for the 2 of them & the bike they both dreamed of. A 2018 BMW R1200 GSA
so in January this year Gary decided he would sell the FT 800 take all his savings and buy one. He opted for a private sale as he couldn't afford dealer prices.
He found one not too far away that was priced a little under the going rate for quick sale.
The seller convinced Gaz to pay cash
Luke instantly took an interest & it was clear it was the start of something special between father & son.
Even though Luke moaned about the constant vibration and not being able to feel his feet, "he used to dance about like a lunatic whenever he got off trying to get some sensation back" it was comical. he still loved nothing more than being out on the bike with his dad & soon began to emerge from his shell, So shortly after Gary decided to upgrade to something a little more modern & more comfortable for Luke A BMW FT 800
but being 6'2 Gaz found this a little cramped for him on the longer rides.
Over the last year they had spoke about their plans to start touring, starting with the Scottish NC 500 this summer if lockdown lifted!
What Luke didn't know is that it wouldn't be on the FT 800
It would be on something a lot more comfortable for the 2 of them & the bike they both dreamed of. A 2018 BMW R1200 GSA
so in January this year Gary decided he would sell the FT 800 take all his savings and buy one. He opted for a private sale as he couldn't afford dealer prices.
He found one not too far away that was priced a little under the going rate for quick sale.
The seller convinced Gaz to pay cash
And offered a small discount to do so, along with some speech about how he was going through a divorce hence wanting cash.
My mate isn't stupid, so he did all the checks HPI the works,
all came back clear, seller had the log book all Manuel's, service book everything. No problem, so the bike was delivered & the deal was done!
Everything checked out! Happy days!
But not for long, within a couple of days
Gary soon uncovered the sinister truth
My mate isn't stupid, so he did all the checks HPI the works,
all came back clear, seller had the log book all Manuel's, service book everything. No problem, so the bike was delivered & the deal was done!Everything checked out! Happy days!
But not for long, within a couple of days
Gary soon uncovered the sinister truth
When he noticed metal filings where metal filings shouldn't have been!
He immediately contacted the police who have since informed him the bike will be seized and the most likely outcome is it's a clone of another bike.
He immediately contacted the police who have since informed him the bike will be seized and the most likely outcome is it's a clone of another bike.
Gary was informed he had most probably been the victim of an organised criminal gang & they would not be able to recover his money!
He's lost it all!
Every penny he had.
So now they have No Money, No Bike & No Chance of getting another bike for them to continue their journey together!The hardest part for me and the thing that made me have to try something to make this right,
Is When my friend stood there with a lump in his throat & said to me
"It's not even the money, it's the fact I've let my boy down & I've nothing left to put it right... it's over"!
Biking is a big part of Luke's life and it has done more for him and his recovery than most will ever know!
I can't let this be the end for him!
If I could afford to fix this myself I would, but I can't that's why I'm asking for your help
I would be more than delighted to raise anything.
But would love to see the look on their faces if I can get them the bike he thought he'd bought!
To Luke this isn't just a bike, it's what makes him feel a part of something, one of the boys when we're out, it's his world! This kid would give up every toy, gadget, Anything he had, if it ment he could continue doing what he loves with his dad!
Biking is a big part of Luke's life and it has done more for him and his recovery than most will ever know!
I can't let this be the end for him!
If I could afford to fix this myself I would, but I can't that's why I'm asking for your help
I would be more than delighted to raise anything.
But would love to see the look on their faces if I can get them the bike he thought he'd bought!
To Luke this isn't just a bike, it's what makes him feel a part of something, one of the boys when we're out, it's his world! This kid would give up every toy, gadget, Anything he had, if it ment he could continue doing what he loves with his dad!
Any donations will be greatffully received, there is no such thing as not enough, what you think may make no difference to you will help make a world of difference to me, but most of all to my dear friend and his boy
On the off chance that more money is raised than needed it will be donated to Sheffield children's hospital in the hope it will help save other children's lives as it did LUKE'S
Thank you, with love & hope
Thank you, with love & hope
John
Organizer
John Mills
Organizer