Classic Austin 7 Car to raise funds for Dame Hannahs
Thursday 11 August 2022
A Saltash couple are very generously donating their 1936/28 Austin 7 to Dame Hannahs. Having driven their beloved car across the Americas they have decided it is time to part with it while supporting a charity close to their hearts. They are now raffling off the car and expect to raise more than £20,000 for Dame Hannahs.
In 2012 Guy Butcher and Eunice Kratky set off on an intrepid adventure across the Americas to raise money for Dame Hannahs. They drove the car from Baltimore to Alaska before turning south to Tierra del Fuego at the very bottom of South America. They completed a total distance of 18,000 miles in 9 months.
The Austin 7 was completely rebuilt and specially prepared for the adventure with the help and advice of many friends. The car was chosen for its remarkable abilities and the ready availability of spares. It has the advantage of being small and light but is capable of travelling anywhere.
They were keen to raise funds to help young people with special or additional needs so they set up their own charity Bespk - Bringing Extra to Special Kids - through which they could support Dame Hannahs. Both Guy, a consultant orthodontist, and Eunice, a child development specialist health visitor, are retired but spent most of their professional lives working with children, particularly those with special and additional needs. Through their work they looked after many young people from Dame Hannahs and therefore decided to fundraise for the charity.
They chose to start their adventure in 2012, the 90th anniversary of the Austin 7 and they have chosen to say goodbye to their car in 2022, the centenary year. The car is being raffled off in a Car Draw and all proceeds are going to Dame Hannahs along with the proceeds of the book about the trip written by Guy Butcher and Eunice Kratky.
The book ‘Austin 7 Around the Americas’ details some wonderful anecdotes including chance meetings with American talk show host Jay Leno and also with a man whose child had Cerebral Palsy on the Argentine/Chile border. They were fortuitously rescued in the middle of nowhere by a car transporter and finally they bumped into their former colleague, Plymouth paediatrician Sergio Mallory, in a restaurant in Punta Arenas.
Dame Hannahs Head of Fundraising, Daniel Burke said “Everyone at Dame Hannahs will be eternally grateful for the tireless fundraising which Guy and Eunice have undertaken over the last decade. Their endeavours and all of the challenges that brought along their journey has been simply exceptional. This final push to boost their fundraising efforts by raffling off the Austin 7 was so unexpected and extremely generous. I would implore anyone wanting to purchase a ticket for this once in a lifetime opportunity, to either visit their Just Giving page or contact our supporter team on 01752 898135. Thank you Guy and Eunice!”
To enter the Austin 7 Car Draw you can buy £10 tickets online by clicking on this link. The draw will take place on 14th December 2022:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/austin7-car-drawhttps://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/austin7-car-draw
The book is for sale at £14.99 but we are asking people to pay an additional £6 (to help cover the cost of printing) totalling £21. Dame Hannahs will then receive a £15 donation from each copy sold. To buy the book visit:
https://www.bespk.com/the-book