Pye’s chart journey for Make-A-Wish
Background
Meet The Pyes
Driving a tractor at 40km/h around Australia it’s hard to miss Jenny and Chris Pye. Similarly, it’s hard to miss their enormous contribution to Make-A-Wish.
Chris spent 18 months building a gypsy wagon that they ended up attaching to a tractor. For a year and a half they’ve been driving country roads raising awareness and money for Make-A-Wish.
The impetus for their fundraising was their foster child Lachie who came to them with a heart condition and is now a healthy 19-year-old.
“Lachie had open heart surgery at 12 months and came to us at 18 months for weekend respite but he never went home and stayed with us,” Jenny said.
“For 17 years we were back and forth to The Royal Children’s Hospital weekly, fortnightly, monthly and then every six months.
“We spent a lot of time at Ronald McDonald House. All the little bald heads and smiling faces. They are so resilient and that is what has inspired us.”
Fundraising heroes
The Pyes have so far raised $15,000 so while their tractor might not go fast their fundraising has gone at a cracking pace.
“We were punching the air when we raised $15,000 which is one thousand a month,” Jenny said. “People are attracted to the wagon and tractor and are excited to donate to Make-A-Wish.
“When we pull over for coffee breaks people pull over behind us and we tell them about Lachie and how lucky we are.
“We also know a girl with a life-threatening illness and we see her family struggling."
Jenny said because their slow tractor couldn’t go on freeways they predominantly end up in small towns rather than cities.
She said community spirit in these towns was amazing with some organising sausage sizzles for Make-A-Wish.
“One time in the middle of nowhere a farmer saw us passing and flagged us down and handed us $50,” Jenny said.
“When we started all this we thought about $500 would be our target but after talking about it we set it at $25,000.”
A huge thank you to Chris and Jenny for their amazing support!
