The mother of a Team GB athlete has been stunned by people’s generosity after she lost £350 which had been earmarked for her trip to the Paris Olympics.
Sheryl Sinden, 58, a school support worker, will be in the crowds watching her son, Bradly Sinden, compete in the taekwondo for Team GB on Thursday.
But her trip looked to be under threat when £350 she saved up disappeared while she was shopping.
Jodie Sinden, 30, a maths teacher from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, started a GoFundMe page for her mum to replace the lost cash, and since then people have more than doubled the amount.
After realising the £350 cash was missing, Sheryl said she “turned the house upside down”.
She even uploaded an image of her emptied recycling bin on Facebook and Instagram after searching for the money through the rubbish.
After people suggested she should start a crowdfunder, her daughter obliged.
“My mum would never have done it herself. She said it’s her mistake and she didn’t expect anything from anyone,” Ms Sinden told the PA news agency.
“But because other people suggested it and people were willing to, I thought, well, you know, I might as well.
“My mum didn’t know I was doing it until after I’d done it and she told me off for doing it, of course.
“I did the GoFundMe page thinking if we get around £50 to £100 it’s better than nothing. It’s amazing how generous people are.
“I think it’s a testament to the taekwondo community and the community of Doncaster, for people who would just put their hands in their pockets for someone.”
Sheryl had meant to get the cash changed to euros for spending on food and travel in Paris.
“I just feel so silly. I’m kicking myself that I hadn’t gone to get it changed the previous week,” she said.
“What’s upsetting me and annoying me more than anything is the fact that I cannot remember the last time I saw it.
“I have absolutely turned the house upside down. I’ve checked every drawer in the house, I’ve looked behind radiators, in the washer dryer and checked everywhere where I put some shopping away that day.
“I’m always misplacing things. Money, keys, phones, you name it, but they always show up. I’ve never not had anything show up.”
The GoFundMe page has received more than £800 and the family say they will donate the surplus to the charity SportsAid.
“I can’t believe people are still donating after it’s doubled its target,” Ms Sinden said.
Sheryl added: “I was very stressed for two days while we were emptying the house trying to find it.
“I had a few tears but then they turned to tears of happiness when everyone started donating and messaging me.”
SportsAid supported her son Bradly when he was a junior athlete – he won silver at Tokyo 2020 in his Games debut.
“Without that money from SportsAid, I don’t know how I would have done it,” Sheryl said.
“It’s not a cheap sport to be in. Taekwondo involves quite a lot of European travel to competitions for ranking points for selections.”
She is travelling to Paris on Wednesday for her son’s competition on Thursday.
“It would mean the world to me to see him get that gold medal, but I’m proud of him no matter what,” she said.
After realising the money had gone missing, Sheryl reported it to the police.
A spokesman for the South Yorkshire police said: “Unfortunately, we don’t take reports of items worth less than £500 that have been lost in a public place.
“On this occasion, we took Sheryl’s details in case the money was handed in to one of our police stations.”
To find out more about the fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/sheryls-olympic-trip.
