The 10-year-old from Braunton has found international recognition as his story has gone global
“I can’t believe the donations that have come in from around the world. It’s made me even more determined to camp out for longer and raise even more money for the hospice.” -Max Woosey,10
A brave Braunton boy has reached the 100th night of his sponsored back garden camp-out, and after setting his original target of raising £100 for North Devon Hospice, he now has his sights set on reaching £10,000!
Max Woosey, aged 10, began raising money by camping out at the beginning of lockdown in March, knowing that his local hospice would be suffering due to the coronavirus restrictions. He pledged to sleep in his back-garden tent until lockdown was over as a show of support, and hoped to raise £100 for the charity that cared for the Woosey’s family friends Rick and Sue in their final days. But Max’s amazing commitment to the cause drew international attention, including a story on America’s CBS news network, and this has seen donations pouring in from far and wide to set his current total at over £8,000.
WATCH THE STORY FROM CBS NEWS BELOW:
Max now hopes that it won’t be long before he reached his new target of £10,000. “It’s been great fun camping out all this time, but I never thought I would raise this much!” said Max. “I loved seeing donations come in from places like America and Hong Kong, and that’s just made me even more determined to carry on sleeping in my little tent for as long as I can.”
Max’s story has gone viral and seen him feature in local, national and international news. “My tent is pretty small, there’s only room for me, my teddies and a couple of Beano comics. But it’s a real adventure and I’m so happy that we’ve raised so much money for the hospice.”
Max chose to support North Devon Hospice because of the family’s experience earlier this year. “Rick was our neighbour and we were very close, but he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and earlier this year a group of his friends all pitched in to help care for him at home, because that’s where he wanted to be.” said Max’s mum, Rachael Woosey. “But we couldn’t have done that without the amazing support of the hospice. They came in every single day and just knew exactly what to do. I had never done anything like that before, so it was very daunting. But they helped tremendously and together we could make sure Rick spent his final days in his own home in as much comfort as possible.”
It was Rick who gave Max his tent as a gift and told him to have many adventures in it. “We are so proud that Max chose to do this,” added Rachael. “We have had some terrible weather and while I’ve been awake at night worrying about him, he’s been absolutely fine and never once considered coming inside. He’s shown such determination and the donations to his fundraising page have really spurred him on. I honestly can’t believe he’s reached 100 nights. It’s been a crazy experience as we’ve done media interviews with so many news outlets, but he’s taken it all in his stride and it’s made him even more determined. Our challenge now will be getting him back inside before winter!
To mark the 100th night of Max’s sponsored campout, North Devon Hospice delivered him a special cake, baked by the hospice catering team in the shape of his now famous tent. Stephen Roberts, Chief Executive at North Devon Hospice, said: “Lockdown has thrown up some truly inspiring stories, and I think that Max’s efforts are up there with the very best. His is certainly the Captain Tom of his generation, and to have reached 100 nights of camping outside, especially given the storms we’ve had, is just incredible. For a young person to have raised over £8,000 is simply staggering, and I know that he is determined to reach £10,000 before this is over. Even then, he will probably set himself an even higher goal, because he is such a conscientious young man.”
Stephen added, “The Woosey family know from personal experience that every single pound Max has raised will make a real difference to the life of someone who is facing an incurable illness. It will help North Devon Hospice provide care during the toughest times. Coronavirus has had a dual impact on the hospice, because the demand for our care has obviously increased, but the ability to raise funds through our shops and fundraising events has simply disappeared. So, heroes like Max are making all the difference right now, and helping our care to continue. We all want to say a huge thank you.”
Even though he’s reached his 100th night, Max isn’t looking to the comfort of his house just yet. He said: “I might see if I can make it a whole year!..”
Sponsor Max for his incredible lockdown campout at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/max-woosey1
