I live in Devon, England, where there are many beaches, so my family and I have always liked surfing and sports. We have a neighbor named Rick who lives across the road. Unfortunately, his wife passed away in 2017. We wanted to make sure he was okay, so we started to take care of him, and then we became good friends with him. He would come over for dinner, and my dad would go paddling, biking and surfing with him. They did a lot of things together. Rick is one of the healthiest people I know, and the only person I have ever seen in his 70s who has a climbing wall in the garage and has two hands pointing upwards.
Unfortunately, in 2018, Rick got cancer of the knee and spread. My dad was in the army, so he was in Plymouth, but my mom and I would go to Rick’s house to help him. All of Rick’s friends took care of him, and I met some amazing people-they were great and the chat was great. The North Devon Hospice Hospital also took Rick so attentively and helped him die peacefully at home in February 2020. They work around him and what he wants.
When I saw Rick for the last time, he gave me a tent and said he wanted me to take risks in it. I promised him that I would. I took the tent to Exmoor and camped with my dad. But I said I would take risks. Going to Exmoor was fun, but not adventurous enough.
I decided to start camping in March 2020 when England was locked down for the first time. At first, when I asked, my parents refused. They didn’t want me to camp outside because the ground was frosted and it was really cold. I managed to convince them, and then I asked if I could start a fundraising page. I just want to express my greatest gratitude to the North German Hospice Center for their help to Rick. My mother really laughed. She said it was a good idea, but she thought no one would sponsor me.
On the first night, I raised 100 pounds. I am surprised that I can raise so much money overnight. I like it so much. I had the first interview-it was a TV interview-which scared me very much. Looking back on this interview, I look so scared!
But donations did spiral upward after that. I have now camped outside for more than 500 consecutive nights and raised more than 750,000 US dollars (550,000 pounds) for the North Devon hospice center. I have camped with my family many times; we have been to Exmoor and Dartmoor, and we have done some field camping. I also went to a sailing camp recently.
I have a sleeping bag, a roll cushion, pillows, a flashlight, The Beano, a few rugby books and magazines, and many teddy bears in my tent. I estimate that I have about eight teddy bears. I have a bean bag with polystyrene balls filled with teddy bears.
Rachel Wosey
I camp in many different weather conditions. In the summer of 2020, there will be thunder and lightning, storms, snow and even small heat waves. But the only time I went in was to complain, and only when it was too hot in summer. I always go back to the tent.Now, I only put books and Lego in the bedroom, so my parents said they would Airbnb Just kidding in my room. But I kind of hope it will appear on Airbnb. I can raise some money for myself!
Earlier this year, a charity called Action For Children contacted us because they heard about my fundraising for the shelter. I think it would be good to participate in other charities and help them. My family and I were camping with them at the London Zoo in July and it was a great time!Then the charity asked if we could camp there at No. 10 Downing Street, so I set up a tent at No. 10 Downing Street and had a one-on-one conversation with the Prime Minister. Boris Johnson. This is very interesting. We talked about camping, children’s action, and the history of No. 10 Downing Street.
Camping is very fun for me, and I also want to help other kids do it. To celebrate the year of camping in March, I made a “big camp” where children from all over the world can camp outside on the same night and raise funds. We got in touch with Just Giving and they created this huge page so that kids can raise money for any charity they want. It’s so interesting. In the end, everyone involved raised more than US$800,000 (£600,000) for their different charities. It is absolutely incredible that we can do this.
Rachel Wosey
North Devon Hospice Hospital likes what I do and they have always been very supportive of me. They gave me a lot of sweets and let me sneak into the tent. It is incredible to be able to raise so much money. I only thought that I would raise about 135 US dollars (100 pounds). My parents even thought they had to increase donations to transfer the money to 135 US dollars (100 pounds). They also said that they would double the funds I raised, and I’m still waiting for them to do so!
I have friends camping with me, but my father’s excuse is that part of his work in the army is camping, and he camped during the war. He said he has his bed at home! However, my parents have always supported 100%. When the tent collapsed, they were there and devoted a lot of time to it. Half of my friends think I am crazy, you know what, honestly, I am not against them. The other half thought it was cool and exciting. I will definitely continue camping. I want to fly and camp in the forest somewhere. I definitely want to go to Australia.
I think other kids should definitely try if they want to take risks like me. It will be difficult at first, but it’s definitely worth it. If Rick is still alive, I think he will camp with me in the tent next to me.
Max Woosey lives in Devon, England.You can follow him on Instagram @the_boy_in_the_tent with Check out his fundraising page here.
All views expressed in this article are the author’s own views.
As told to Jenny Howard.
