The Shortbread Trust: Cycling For Those In Need
The Shortbread Trust: Cycling For Those In Need
Jimmy Griffith is a man on a mission.
On Saturday 1 March he sets off on a 2800
kilometre charity cycle ride around the South Island to
raise awareness, and donations, for The Shortbread Trust and
ShelterBox.
Jimmy used to be a commercial fisherman,
and while he had a pretty good life he says he knew plenty
of people were really struggling.
“I went to see a
lawyer about donating my property to a charity once I
died,” he says. “However, he advised me to do something
now and not wait until I am dead.”
Jimmy became
involved in a charitable trust that helped fund a school in
Nepal, and it was during a visit in 2010 that he came across
a woman breaking stones.
“She was breaking bags of
rocks for a dollar a day, and she was sick, so we gave her
some medicine,” he says. “It was very emotional; she
shed tears of appreciation that someone had given her a
helping hand.”
Following that trip, Jimmy set up The
Shortbread Trust to help relieve poverty in third-world
countries. He began selling shortbread biscuits for 50 cents
each at Shortbread Cottage Backpackers and other outlets
around Nelson.
“Two pieces of shortbread gives me
one dollar, the same as the woman breaking stones in Nepal
earns,” Jimmy says “but that dollar goes a long way
overseas and can make a real difference to someone’s
life.”
Not content with just making shortbread, the
Trust is also supporting the work of ShelterBox, an
organization that provides emergency shelter around the
world for people affected by humanitarian and natural
disasters.
As Jimmy cycles through around fifty South
Island small towns and cities he will be towing a
ShelterBox, although to reduce weight this one will be
empty.
“Each ShelterBox costs $1500 so I came up
with the idea of one dollar magic,” Jimmy says. “The
idea being that finding one person to give you a million
dollars would be hard, but imagine if you had a million
people giving one dollar a month? The magic in that dollar
would be huge to someone with no home, food or fresh
water.”
Jimmy has had great support so far,
including from Kimi Ora in Kaiteriteri, from the makers of
3B sandfly and mossie repellent, which he says will be
useful on the West Coast, and R & R Sport, which is
providing his gear. Anyone donating $1500 will be able to
advertise on the box.
The first leg of Jimmy’s
journey is Nelson to Pelorus. He is leaving from R & R
Sport, Rutherford Street at 10.30am on Saturday 1
March.