4Wheels4Sean charity contributes $17000 to Paraplegic Benefit Fund

The trustees of 4Wheels4Sean, an Australian charity that raised finds for quadriplegic cyclist Sean Fitzgerald, have decided to close the charity and donate the remaining $17,000 in the fund to the Paraplegic Benefit Fund (PBF).

The PBF delivers education programs to prevent spinal injury and help those who have suffered spinal injuries. It also has close links to the mountain bike world with the gruelling Simpson Desert Classic held in late September each year being a fundraiser for the PBF.

Tony South of PBF said, "The Paraplagic Benefit Fund is a charity that works hard to help reduce the number of new spinal cord injuries each year and to enhance the quality of lives of those already living with the debilitating injury."

"The fund is hugely grateful to receive the surplus funds from 4Wheels4Sean and will use the money in its gifting program. This helps buy equipment such as wheelchairs and computers for people with spinal cord injuries enabling them to live a more independent life. The fund would like to thank 4Wheels4Sean for its generous donation."

Sean Fitzgerald, who was a keen mountain biker and regular participant in MTB events, was made a quadriplegic in 2000. Huw Kingston of Wild Horizons, organizers of the Berghaus Polaris Challenge, Urban Polaris and VAUDE Highland Fling, resolved to raise $50,000 to purchase a specially adapted vehicle for Fitzgerald. The charity 4Wheels4Sean was born in late 2001.

Mountain bikers, cyclists, event organisers and the bike industry got behind the fund and in 2003 the car was presented, making life much easier for Fitzgerald and his family.

Kingston and the trustees expressed their thanks to all of those who contributed to 4Wheels4Sean over the period of its activities.