An 11-year-old has spent over 500 nights in a tent, and it’s for all the right reasons. In 2020, just before the pandemic hit, Max Woosey’s parents were helping to take care of their neighbor who had terminal cancer.
Rick Abbott’s final wish was to live his last days in his own home, and the Woosey family came to appreciate helping their neighbor fulfill his last wish.
Before Abbott died, he gave Max a tent as a gift.
“My friend Rick gave me his tent before he died and made me promise to go have an adventure,” Max said.
When he heard that the fundraising events for the hospice got canceled and services shut down because of COVID-19, he decided to use the tent his friend gave, in hopes to raise £100 for charity.
He then began posting updates on his fundraising page, posting pictures of him with his stuffed animals, while waiting for the pandemic to be over.
When summer nights turned into chilly weather, the young bot refused to leave the tent, and that’s when donations poured in.
He wrote on the fundraising page, hoping to get £20,000 by the end of the year while continuing to camp out for a year.
“Thank you so much for all the donations. I can’t believe how much I have raised. I have decided to camp out for a year to see if I can get to £20,000.”
As winter came along, the 11-year-old’s tent had blown over one night, but he repatched it so he could continue on with spending his nights camping out. In fact, his dad kept him company during Storm Bella.
At one point his original tent ended up with a leak, so he went to purchase a new one. However, it didn’t stop his mission to raise £20,000.
During the Christmas season the young boy and his family decorated his tent with lights and Santa ornaments.
His mission to sleep in a tent grabbed the attraction of many, and in fact, he was invited to camp next to the lion’s enclosure at the London Zoo and in the Downing Street Garden.
Max has since celebrated his 500th consecutive night in his tent and has raised more than $770,000 from strangers around the world for his dedication to help for hospice.
