Who We Are / Meet the Teams / Staffordshire
Staffordshire
The Staffordshire arm of the DocBike charity is a true example of a community pulling together to help protect motorcyclists and their families from future tragedies. Dedicated to Luke Van de Sande, this is his story:
Life is perfect! Dream job, beautiful wife, family you love and adore, and them you.
You’ve arranged to meet your mates for a ride out on your motorbikes. You check your bike, put all your protective clothing and your helmet on and off you ride. The lads are waiting; you have your intercoms on to warn each other of road conditions and dangers.
You are a competent, experienced rider having ridden all types, styles and sizes of bike. You take part in track days and are trained to a blue light standard. All of you stick to the road speed limit, then speed up when you reach a national speed limit sign; over the brow of the hill you go, shouting ‘wahoo!!’ THE END.
Luke had misjudged the bend and crashed through a fence, hitting a tree and died instantly. The pain and devastation felt by Luke’s family, friends and colleagues is unimaginable. To try and prevent others experiencing this pain, the family rallied with the local community to raise money to put a DocBike in Staffordshire in his name. On 21st March 2020, this became a reality.
Volunteers
DocBike Staffordshire is led by Luke’s mum Carol. The enthusiasm and backing of family, friends, colleagues and the local motorcycle community makes this region a real success. They are presently leading the way with their fundraising and community engagement. There is a huge amount of professional knowledge within their volunteer sector i.e. how and why bike crashes happen in Staffordshire, how to avoid being knocked off your bike and how to become a more skilful rider.
If you would like to help us by becoming a volunteer, take a look at the different roles on our Volunteer Page.
Rider Training
Riding standards have to be beyond reproach on any emergency response motorcycle. That’s why it is the responsibility of Staffordshire Police to train the riders of the DocBike in Staffordshire.
All riders have to undergo advanced and response training, ride to a police code of conduct and undergo regular revalidation assessments.
Our thanks go to Staffordshire Police for supporting the charity and helping Luke’s name to live on by donating the motorcycle and supporting the charity in this way.
For more information about DocBike in the Staffordshire area and how you can get involved, email: staffordshire@docbike.org
How Can You Help?
Below are some of the ways that you can help us. Whether you donate, fundraise for us, volunteer, or follow us on social media, your support really will make a big difference, thank you!
Volunteer
Everyone involved with the charity is a volunteer, we do not employ a single person. We are always looking for new volunteers who can help, so whatever you’re good at and however much time you have, we would be delighted to hear from you!
If you would like to help us by becoming a volunteer, take a look at the different roles on our Volunteer Page.
Fundraise for us
With your commitment, enthusiasm, and support, we can help to save more lives. Whether you are part of business, a group or you would personally like to raise funds for DocBike, there are so many different ways that you can help us.
If you would like to fundraise in aid of Luke’s Legacy, please visit our campaign page on Just Giving.
Donate
No matter how big or small, we are extremely grateful for all donations received. Your support enables the charity to direct resources to stop bikers from having a collision in the first place and to kit out the response motorcycles with medical equipment, so that we can be there for fallen bikers when they are involved in a collision. You can make a one-off or regular donation to us below.
Get in touch
If you would like to support us or be a part of DocBike Staffordshire going forward, we would love to hear from you! Simply get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of this webpage.
Donate to DocBike Staffordshire #LukesLegacy
No matter how big or small, your donation will make a huge difference and enable us to be there for fallen bikers when they need us the most.
Don’t forget Gift Aid! If you are a UK Tax Payer, please do not forget to Gift Aid your donation. Gift Aid enables us to claim back 25p in every £1 donated from HMRC and is one of the easiest ways to make your donation tax effective. The charity reclaims the money and there is no additional cost to you!
Get in Touch
If you would like to support us or be a part of DocBike Staffordshire going forward, we would love to hear from you!
Latest News in Staffordshire
Virgin Money Giving Closure
In August 2021, Virgin Money Giving (VMG) announced the closure of their fundraising platform, after 12 years of operating. We understand that this closure will affect some our supporters who have chosen to fundraise for us using this platform, so we want to provide...
DocBike Hits Derbyshire!
Trustees were delighted to join volunteers from DocBike Staffordshire, along with our good friends from Mental Health Motorbike and UpRight Derbyshire, to attend a bike night held at the Cat & Fiddle Pub in Macclesfield on Wednesday 18th August. Invited by...
Fantastic Support Continues for DocBike Staffordshire!
Wow! The team from DocBike Staffordshire have certainly been busy raising funds over the past few months. Carol Close, DocBike Staffordshire’s Regional Lead, provides an update on the fantastic support that they have received recently. Luke’s wife Abbie celebrated her...
Our Supporters
A huge thank you to the following groups who are supporting DocBike in the Staffordshire region.
