– credit, @_grandborghini
An Englishman whose grandmother took her own life while suffering from loneliness has started a turbo-charged effort to reduce social isolation.
Called “Granborghini” the charity connects seniors and elderly in the UK with the owners of supercars made by Ferrari and Maclaren to give them a spin.
Organizer Mark Cody had always promised ‘gran’ he’d take her for a ride in a Lamborghini one day, but never got the opportunity. After, he made a promise to make sure others would have the same chance in the name of preventing future tragedies of isolation.
Cody says he didn’t know about the widespread epidemic of loneliness among retirees in the UK, but after learning about its pervasiveness, made a few phone calls and Granborghini was born.
“What started out a as daft idea, trying to do some good and raise awareness in a wild and exciting way for people who get forgotten about, has blown me away with the response,” Cody told the UK‘s ‘This Morning’ show.
“We’ve had people step out of the car and say ‘I feel like a rock star’ or ‘I feel 20 years younger,’” Cody then told the BBC. “It’s so heart-warming and overwhelming emotionally to see people’s reactions.”
Partnering with Mark is 82-year-old Betty Tynan, organizer of a small social group called Friendship Lunches, and also the first gran to get behind the wheel of one of the supercars.
HELPING THE ELDERLY:
One day, she and her friends were having a fundraising event and Cody was there with three supercars. As Tynan revealed recently, even though the opportunity was there to drive one, the members of the luncheon club were like wildebeest at the edge of the river waiting to see who’s the first one to jump in.
For starters, the low riding cars are a bit difficult to get in and out of you know. But Tynan is a social soul, and wanted to have a go immediately. The MacLaren’s owner, Robbin Gibbons, said he got involved with Granborghini in order to do exactly what he wanted to do when he bought the car: make people smile.
“They’ve got a good few cars here and I’m hoping to get in every one,” said Tynan. “It’s made our lives, doing this.”
WATCH one of the grans take a spin in a Lambo…
SHARE These Grannies’ Wild Ride With Your Friends…
