Lexi and Skylar Clayton, of Marton, and their cousin Zierra ‘‘Zee’’ Gorinski, of Tauranga, know personally how heart disease affects New Zealand families.
The twins’ mum and Zee’s aunt Maria Clayton was a ‘‘heart kid’’ who went undiagnosed until she was 20, and Zee (also a twin) has a 7-year-old sister, Evie, who was diagnosed at birth with congenital heart disease (CHD).
The girls’ grandmother, Ruth Gorinski, is chief executive of the charity, which raises money for children with CHD or rheumatic heart disease.
Earlier this year, Tour Aotearoa rider Greg McAllister raised money for Heart Kids as he has CHD and publicity surrounding his tour inspired the young cousins to undertake their own fundraiser.
They initially set a target of $1520 — $10 for each kilometre cycled — but revised their target to $3000 once they passed the original during the week. At the end of last week their link helpingheartkids.org.nz/152kmforheartkids showed they had raised $2266.
The older cousin Zee is the girls’ unofficial spokesperson and said in Middlemarch they wanted to help people like their family who suffered from heart disease.
They left Clyde on Monday November 14 for the first and longest day of their five-day, 152km cycle and arrived in Middlemarch on Friday where Zee’s father was waiting to meet them. Maria Clayton and grandparents Ruth and Mike Gorinski joined the girls on their trip as support crew, also cycling.
Ruth Gorinski said on Sunday the girls were ‘‘stoked’’ to have raised so much, and hoped donations would continue to come in from people they met on the trip.
