Guernseyman Lee Corbet has smashed through his £7,500 fundraising goal ahead of the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride that he is taking part in this coming weekend.
Not only has he raised a huge amount of money for charity, but he’s currently the number one fundraiser taking on the Bournemouth to Poole ride, leading the way by over £1,000.
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (TDGR) is a worldwide event for people who own classic and vintage-style motorcycles, and want to do some good for charity and community.
The goal is simple – participants dress up in smart, dapper outfits, and ride together in cities across the globe, raising awareness and funds for third sector organisations.
The main goal of these rides is to raise money and awareness for two important men’s health issues: Prostate cancer research, and funding efforts to find better ways to diagnose and treat this disease, and men’s mental health, through supporting initiatives to help men struggling with their mental well-being.
The event was started in Sydney, Australia, by a man named Mark Hawwa in 2012.
He got the idea after seeing a photo of Don Draper, a character from the TV show ‘Mad Men’ looking stylish on a classic motorcycle. Mr Hawwa thought a themed ride would be a fun way for people who love these kinds of bikes to connect and raise money for a good cause.
13 years later, the event has gone from strength to strength.
It now involves rides in 109 countries and has raised over $57 million USD.
Mr Corbet is taking part in the Poole ride this coming Sunday.
He has exceeded his initial target of £7,500 and is still accepting donations.
Mr Corbet believes strongly in the cause, and highlights the important connection between men’s mental health and prostate cancer, based on his own experiences.
“You know, men’s mental health is really important, and blokes just don’t talk about it, or they never used to, and it’s important that we get ourselves checked and make sure that we’re okay,” he said.
“Motorcycling is a great fraternity, and the Guernsey Biking group and the Jersey Boys, they’ll do so much more for charity than any government will do. It’s just the nature of the beast.”
Mr Corbet is fairly new to this event, but it helps causes he’s long been a supporter of, and says he’s loving the build up to this weekend’s ride.
“I’ve not supported it very much in the past, but a friend of mine said to me, come over and do the Poole ride. I thought about it, and I thought, ‘yeah, why not?’ I know I’m not doing it in Guernsey, but all of the money that we raise goes to the same charity. It’s for the Movember Foundation, which supports prostate cancer and men’s mental health.
“Over the years, I’ve been involved in that quite a bit, and now I’ve sort of recovered from my own issues I’m cracking on with it and loving it!”
You can support Lee Corbet’s fundraising efforts on the TDGR website HERE.