Happy 80th Birthday to ‘Weymouth Bike Man’ Danny
13th June 2021
We all have hobbies – for some it is fishing, exercise, baking…but for loyal volunteer Danny Collins, it is refurbishing old bikes and selling them on, with all proceeds going to Weldmar Hospicecare.
On Sunday 13th June, Danny celebrates his 80th birthday and we couldn’t let the day pass without showing our sincere gratitude for his continued hard work and dedication for the charity.
Since Danny started upcycling and selling bicycles for Weldmar back in 2018, he has raised over a staggering £18,000! From children’s bikes to unicycles, trikes to adult road bikes – Danny has them all and is proud to be a supporter of Weldmar.
One of Weldmar’s Directors, Matt Smith alongside Alaine and Gloria from the fundraising team, dropped Danny a visit to present him with his very own official new signage plus a special birthday cake.
Matt Smith, Director of Fundraising and Marketing said “It was our honor to present Danny with this very special gift, as recognition for his continued hard work and dedication towards Weldmar. Danny is well known for upcycling and turning one persons waste into another persons treasure. All of Danny’s bicycle sale signage is made from recycled materials and off cuts of wood so we thought it would be nice for him to display his very own professional and eye catching sign for passers by to see. We are extremely grateful for Danny’s support and his innovative ways of raising vital funds to continue our care and we wish him a very special and happy 80th birthday.”
The cycles that Danny has worked on and are ready for sale are always placed outside the front of his house in Dorchester Road in Weymouth, and never last long. Danny said “I sell the bikes for anything between £10 and £100, I suppose most go for about £40. Someone gets a bargain, the bikes don’t end up on the tip, and Weldmar gets the money, so everyone wins. I enjoy refurbishing the bicycles and it keeps me active, plus it helps Weldmar at the same time.”
