150 miles cycled, £2400 raised - all in a days work

06 July 2021 chsw Fundraising

Two friends recently took on a mammoth cycling challenge riding from Bristol to St Austell in just one day all in the name of raising vital funds for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).


Richard Jones from Perranporth and friend Matt Proom from Bristol set themselves the challenge of cycling the 150 miles from Bristol Children’s Hospital to Little Harbour children’s hospice in St Austell to raise funds for CHSW in memory of Joel Erents who died aged 10 and was supported by Little Harbour.


Speaking about why they chose to raise money for CHSW Richard and Matt said;

The care Little Harbour provided to Joel and his family was amazing, nothing was ever too much trouble and this meant that the family could spend their last moments together free from the stresses of everyday life.

And although no amount of kindness and support can ever ease the heartbreak of a family losing a child, the work of Little Harbour will always be remembered.”


Rich and Matt along their route
The cyclists set off at 4am on 27th June from the front doors of Bristol Children’s Hospital and battled poor weather conditions for most of their journey inevitably causing very poor cycling conditions. With the help of friends supporting along the route, messages on social media and sheer determination they arrived in to Little Harbour at 11pm after a 19 hour journey, 153 miles cycled and having raised £2478 for the charity.


Bernadette Chambers, Area Fundraiser for CHSW welcomed Richard and Matt to the finish line at Little Harbour’s gates and said

 

What Richard and Matt achieved in that one day was absolutely incredible.

"We are so, so grateful for everything they have done and for all of the funds and awareness that they have raised for Little Harbour, it really does mean a lot especially after such a challenging year."


Little Harbour is supporting more than 140 local children and families with stays at the hospice, home visits and regular contact, as well as over 60 bereaved families. The hospice costs more than £3 million a year to run which is almost entirely raised through voluntary donations.


If you are interested in raising funds for CHSW during 2021, the charity’s 30th anniversary year, simply click here to get some fundraising ideas or call Little Harbour on 01726 871800.