KIND deed by Port Douglas ‘Bike Lady’ donating funds of recycling items to charity

Being an iconic sight in the streets of Port Douglas, many locals would most likely know Claudia Synge as the ‘Bike Lady’.

She now has become even more notable as she has made it her mission to collect as many 10 cent refundable items as possible and to donate the yield to charity.

With a lot of determination she rides her bike around town daily, collecting the items from the bins in town, local resorts, businesses and individual people.

She has pledged to donate $500 of every $1000 she makes to Kids In Need Donations (KIND) in the Douglas Shire. In a period of two weeks she has already donated $1000.

Mrs Synge said she wanted to give back to the community and after hearing about KIND she offered to donate money and generate ongoing support to the charity.

“Donating to charity is a wonderful way to help improve someone’s life”, she said. “I hope to encourage other people to help out and I call on everyone to donate their refund items to me if they wish to. I can pick them up all over town and the surrounding areas.”

Mrs Synge said that she started doing this in November last year and that ever since then she hasn’t had a day off. Collecting 4 to 6 bags a day, Mrs Synge makes a couple of trips back and forth to her accommodation.

To be able to carry everything with her, Mrs Synge has installed a blue crate on the back of her bike for the glass bottles while the cans and plastic bottles go into plastic bags. “Luckily Coles bags are pretty strong and solid”, she said. “Carrying the glass bottles is a bit tricky sometimes, a few times the crate has fallen off my bike breaking some of the bottles.”

“I have been using this bike for 18 years now. In all this time it has become an iconic bike as many locals see me riding around town daily.”

KIND

Danielle Bellero, president of KIND, said the KIND committee couldn’t be more grateful for Claudia’s donations.

“Ever since Covid hit, fundraising has become very difficult. We need to raise at least $20,000 each year to continue to assist our families, so any donations to our charity are very much appreciated”, she said.

KIND was formed in 2008 to raise funds for any child in the Douglas Shire who suffers from a life threatening or long term debilitating illness. Mrs Bellero said that 100% of all the money raised is used to assist families.

“We pay for anything that the government doesn’t pay for, suchs as flights to major hospitals, medical aids and food vouchers whilst the child is having treatment away from their home”, Mrs Bellero said.

“Even though we live in a beautiful part of the world, when it comes to serious medical treatment of children they all have to go to the major cities. The costs of this can be financially crippling for families.”

Life purpose

That Mrs Synge dedicates most of her time donating to charities doesn’t come as a surprise when hearing about her past.

“I have always tried to donate my time to volunteer work and being involved in the community, my parents did the same”, she said.

“I have also been to India a number of times to cook for 500 children in need, some of them were orphans. Each time has been an amazing spiritual experience.”

Mrs Synge recently decided to sell her house in Port Douglas after 17,5 years. Doing all the chores around the house took up most of her time and she missed having a purpose. She now lives a more simple life with more free time to help people in need.

“It doesn’t cost anything to be kind, to give unconditionally and to help each other. It doesn’t always have to be a charity in India, South America or elsewhere, just start in your own backyard.”

Do you want to donate your 10 cent refund items to Claudia Synge? You can call or text her on 0412789708. For donating to KIND directly head over to their website.