Injured artist overwhelmed, as bikers raise thousands of pounds for her
Sami Graystone, a 31-year-old tattoo artist from Leeds, was rushed to hospital on Thursday, after a car knocked her off her motorbike. She suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull and a shattered pelvis, and as a result won't be unable to work for a while. Her boyfriend was worried as to how she would pay her bills, but the biking community has come to her aid.
Sami is a freelance artist and illustrator, so not being able to work means not having any money coming in at all. Her boyfriend decided to set up a fundraising page to see if he could cover some of her costs while she is recovering, and her fellow bikers have shown incredible generosity.
Her boyfriend, Chris Hatton a 34 year old from Cardiff explains: "Sami won't be earning any money for some time and so I sat down and worked out that her monthly outgoings are around £1,000 and set the target at that. I wanted to raise enough to pay for her bills, food and expenses."
He set up a GoFundMe page on Thursday, and hit his target in just 40 minutes. Chris says: "Bikers realise that it could be them in hospital so they always rally round to help an injured biker. It's absolutely unreal and I can't thank everyone who has donated enough."
In the first 24 hours after launching the campaign, the campaign raised £4,000 and is now just shy of £5,000. The page has been shared more than 600 times.
Incredible giving
It's one of many impressive fundraising campaigns that have smashed their targets recently. Kitchen in Calais has been running a campaign for 10 months, to fund a kitchen in the camp in Calais. It has beaten its £60,000 goal, and money continues to come in. The couple behind the campaign now provide food for over 1,000 people every day.
Meanwhile, a joiner who had his van and tools stolen from outside his house, needed £2,000 to replace the tools. His friend set up a campaign, and they smashed the target in the first day. It is currently running at over £2,500.
Finally, a couple had lost everything when their stables tragically burned down. Their best friend set up a page for them, to raise £1,800 to help get them back on their feet. The fund currently stands at over £3,500.
