Kind donation warms Max on his sleep-out
ADEVON boy has been donated a sleeping bag from the mother of a fallen soldier, after she heard about his fund-raising mission.
Max Woosey from Braunton has been camping out in his garden since March, when the first coronavirus lockdown began, to raise money for the North Devon Hospice.
So far, Max has raised over £100,000 for the hospice and is planning to continue his fund-raising campaign and pledges to sleep out for an entire year.
He has received international recognition and coverage for his efforts and Lisa Snow, from Cheshire, was so touched by young Max’s mission she decided to donate something close to her heart.
Lisa lost her son, Private Joe Berry, while he was serving with the army in Afghanistan last year. As Joe was a camping fanatic and passionate about supporting charities, Lisa decided that it would be fitting to donate his specialist winter sleeping bag to Max, to help him continue his efforts during the cold winter months.
Lisa said: “I first saw Max’s story on the national news, and thought it was amazing. What this young lad was doing to help other people, it instantly reminded me of Joe. When he was a young lad, this was exactly the sort of thing he would do.
“He was also a Scout, just like Max, and loved camping out and having adventures. Joe was also always raising money for charity, too. There were so many similarities that I felt it would be nice to reach out and offer some help, with winter on the way.”
Joe lost his life at the age of just 21 on February 22, 2020 – just two weeks before he was due to return home.
Lisa continued: “I straight away thought of Joe’s camping gear, which I had up in the loft. It was returned to me by the army after he died, and I had wondered what I would do with it. Joe would definitely want to see it go to a good home, and he would be thrilled to help Max with his fundraising adventure.”
She said she believed that Joe would be ‘delighted’ to be helping Max on his adventure and that he would ‘certainly approve’.
The Woosey family are extremely appreciative of the kind donation made by Lisa as they too are a military family, with Max’s dad, Major Mark Woosey, serving in the Marines, at Royal Marine Base Chivenor.
He said: “It’s lovely that the military family can come together in this way and celebrate life. A great thread of scouting, military and service to the community.”
Rachael Woosey, Max’s mum, added: “This is such an unbelievably kind gift to Max. Having a 21-yearold myself, I cannot imagine the grief and pain that Lisa and her family have gone through. I think it is such an honour for Max to help keep Joe’s spirit alive in this way.”
Max started his sponsored campout to show a sense of solidarity at the beginning of lockdown in March, 2020, when he pledged to stay out in his garden until the pandemic was over.