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‘Tent Boy’ Max raises £680,000 for hospice by sleeping in under canvas for 600 nights

3 min read

Good Stuff
‘Tent Boy’ Max raises £680,000 for hospice by sleeping in under canvas for 600 nights
Source: DevonLive

A hospice in Devon, southwest England, has received nearly £680,000 ($900k) from the efforts of 12-year-old Max Woosey, who has slept out in a tent for 600 consecutive nights in fundraising memory of a neighbour.

Tent boy Max Woosey raises ‘insane’ £680,000 for hospice

A hospice has received nearly £680,000 from the efforts of 12-year-old Max Woosey, who has slept out in a tent for 599 nights. Monday, 22 November was Max’s 600th night sleeping outside, which he completed in the garden of his home in Braunton, Devon. North Devon Hospice said the money equated to almost 20 nurses working for 12 months. Max’s father, Mark, told the BBC the family was "blown away" by the amount raised. The £567,000 raised on his fundraising page topped up with £112,000 Gift Aid tax, has been "insane", said North Devon Hospice.

Max was inspired to raise money for the hospice by the care that it gave to neighbour Rick Abbott. The 74-year-old gave Max a tent and told him to
Max’s fundraising equates to almost 20 nurses for the whole year. Max was inspired to raise money for the hospice by the care that it gave to neighbour Rick Abbott. The 74-year-old gave Max a tent and told him to “promise me you’ll have an adventure in here”, before dying from cancer. We’re sure Mr. Abbott would approve of Max’s initiative and stick-to-it-ness. Source: BBC

Max’s fundraising equates to almost 20 nurses for the whole year

Max started camping out when he was 10 in March 2020 as the pandemic took hold in the UK. At the same time North Devon Hospice was facing a £1m drop in funding because of the lockdown, said the hospice’s communications officer Leo Cooper.

"I cannot over-emphasise how important his fundraising has been," he said. "At lockdown we were looking at the prospect of losing £1m, that adds up to a whole lot of care that we cannot provide and it was needed, especially during the lockdown. Max’s fundraising equates to almost 20 nurses for the whole year, so that gives you an idea of the scale."

Max was inspired to raise money for the hospice by the care that it gave to neighbour Rick Abbott. The 74-year-old gave Max a tent and told him to "promise me you’ll have an adventure in here", before dying from cancer.

Max’s father Mark told the BBC: "As a family we have been blown away that he has been able to help the hospice. The work that they do is amazing."

Max’s fundraising was marked at the Pride of Britain awards when he won the Spirit of Adventure award, and Mr Woosey said it had been "a joy" to see his son mature and grow with the experience of his fundraising.

Source: BBC

The 12-year-old, from Braunton, has camped out at a variety of locations, ranging from his back garden to London Zoo and 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s residence.
Boris Johnson’s dog Dilyn joined Max and the PM in the garden of Number 10 Downing Street. The 12-year-old, from Braunton, has camped out at a variety of locations, ranging from his back garden to London Zoo and 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s residence. Source: None
It was the 580th consecutive night that Max had slept under the stars to raise funds for the local hospice that cared for a dying family friend - and he was on his way to the glittering, star-studded Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards at Grosvenor House in London - the biggest awards show of its kind on British TV. The Braunton schoolboy became the national winner of the 2021 Pride of Britain Spirit of Adventure award.
Why was Devon’s famous ‘Tent Boy’ Max Woosey was travelling to London to set up camp on a hotel balcony on his 12th birthday? It was the 580th consecutive night that Max had slept under the stars to raise funds for the local hospice that cared for a dying family friend – and he was on his way to the glittering, star-studded Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards at Grosvenor House in London – the biggest awards show of its kind on British TV. The Braunton schoolboy became the national winner of the 2021 Pride of Britain Spirit of Adventure award. Source: DevonLive
Max meets fellow adventurer Bear Grylls at the award ceremony.
‘We got the photos from @prideofbritain. I want to go back and do it all over again!’ Max meets fellow adventurer Bear Grylls at the award ceremony. Source: Instagram/the_boy_in_the_tent
Upon hosting Max and HSI tent in the garden of No.10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted to Facebook: “Fantastic to meet Max who has raised an enormous amount of money for some very worthy causes by sleeping in his tent for over a year now. Thank you for inspiring young people all over the country to raise money for the children who need it the most. Extraordinary work!” Source: Facebook/Boris Johnson
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