Family thanks community for making Westbury girl’s dream come true

A WESTBURY family has thanked the local community for its generosity after raising almost £4,000 towards the cost of a specially designed trike for their daughter.

Keisha Norris who has hypermobility, epilepsy and X Ring Turner syndrome, wanted one thing for Christmas – a trike, so she could join her siblings on bike rides and exploring. Keisha’s mum, Sarah, received a quote of £4,000 for the specially-designed trike and she immediately set about fundraising. She set up a bingo night at Frome Town FC’s clubhouse where £2,000 was raised through cash donations and the event itself – then Westbury Lions Club stepped in to make Keisha’s dream come true.

Sarah explained, “Keisha really wanted a trike for Christmas so she could join the rest of us on bike rides, but when we looked into buying one that was specifically designed for her, the price sky-rocketed to around £4,000. It was just too expensive for us, especially given the rising prices recently.

“My husband is Keisha’s carer and I’m currently out of work due to health problems, so I thought I’d organises a fundraiser to see if anyone locally may be able to help her as I knew it would just make her Christmas.

“I organised a bingo event and spoke to various shops in Westbury and Frome, who all kindly donated to the fundraiser. Before we actually started the bingo event, I was approached by a total stranger who donated £1,000, which I was blown away by!

“Following the bingo event and loads of other generous people chipping in, we managed to raise just over £2,000 – that’s when the Westbury Lions Club kindly stepped in and donated the rest.

“I think Keisha was heartbroken in the summer when she realised she couldn’t ride a normal bike with her siblings. This trike will allow her to enjoy normal life, which is just priceless.”

David Firth from the Westbury Lions Club said, “We initially donated £1,000 because we saw that the family were raising money themselves, but we added that if she didn’t reach the overall target, then we would make up the difference.

“We hope that we’ve help make a child’s Christmas that little bit better – it’s terrible to hear the problems that Keisha deals with and I hope this comes as a relief, not just for her, but for her family as well.”