A British boy who spent three years sleeping outdoors in a tent in memory of his late neighbor has raised almost a million dollars for charity. Earning himself the nickname Tent Boy, his story has gone global and is inspiring a new generation of kids to believe in their own potential.
Max Woosey of Devon in southern England is 13 years old. He was just 10 when his neighbor, 74-year-old Rick Abbott, a friend who enjoyed outdoor activities like kayaking and surfing with his father, passed away from cancer on Valentine’s Day 2020 after being cared for by North Devon Hospice. Abbot gave Max a gift before he passed away.
“He gave me a tent and said, ‘I want you to have an adventure,’” Max told The Epoch Times. “I said, ‘I promise you, I will.’ So I started raising money for North Devon Hospice. ... We were in lockdown at the time, self-isolating, so I thought I would try and sleep outside in the tent he gave me, and try to raise money for the hospice that took such good care of him.”
The Biggest Challenge
When Max came up with this idea, it was still cold and icy in Devon, so Max’s first challenge was convincing his parents, Rachel and Mark, that camping was a good idea. Finally, after days of nagging, Max got a reluctant “Yes” on March 29, 2020. He headed into the garden with his tent, a Beano album, some soft toys for comfort, and the family labradoodle, Digby.As days turned into weeks, the weather continued to be Max’s biggest challenge even though he sometimes pitched his tent in different places. He endured snow, wind, rain, slippery mud, and lightning storms. However, it didn’t stop at that. There was wildlife.
“I was at my grandparents’,” Max said. “I woke up, looked to my left, and found a baby pheasant. I looked to my right and saw a mama pheasant. The mama pheasant didn’t like that I was in between the two, so ended up chasing me around the garden for ages, and those little things are quick!”
Through the challenges, the teen admitted that he wanted to give up a few times.
“I had the tent just collapse on me when I was in it, and everything inside ended up getting ruined. Those are the nights you want to give up. I knew that what I was doing, all the money I was trying to raise, was going to a good cause; I knew that I had to keep on going,” he said.
In or Out?
In the summer of 2022, Max got COVID and had to make a choice: retreat to his bedroom or stay in his tent.“I wasn’t very sympathetic. I explained that I couldn’t make the tent any cooler, so he could go back out there or he could go upstairs, and he went back out there,” Rachel said. “It sounds like we’ve been really tough on him, [but] we’ve always made sure he was safe. We’ve always protected him in that way, and would have stepped in if ever we needed to.”
Rachel occasionally slept outside with her son to keep an eye on him if he was sick, and during Storm Eunice in February 2022, Max’s dad, Mark, slept outside for safety.
As his story gained traction, Max was invited to pitch his tent at London Zoo and at 10 Downing Street by the then-UK prime minister, Boris Johnson. The rugby-crazy teen even camped on the England rugby team’s home pitch at Twickenham with his dad, and even gave a TED talk to an enraptured audience in the city of Bath.
1,009 Nights
After exactly three years or 1,099 nights under the stars, Max thought he could call his mission complete on March 29, 2023. His final tally for the hospice was just under 800,000 pounds including Gift Aid, a UK initiative whereby the government donates a percentage of funds raised for charity.Owing to Max’s massive donation, North Devon Hospice was one of the few hospices in the UK that did not have to make big cuts or redundancies during the pandemic. The money allowed them to provide 15 community nurses for an entire year, supporting around 500 terminally-ill patients in their own homes.
Rachel told The Epoch Times: “I think a lot of the reason we said ‘No’ was because actually, it was more convenient for us, not for him. ... I didn’t sleep as well, I was worried about him the first 24 months. But that was my problem, and it would have been such a shame for me not to let him have that adventure. Had he got cold on the first night and come in, it wouldn’t have mattered; he would have tried it, and he would have been proud for the part of it that he was able to do.”
She now finds Max to be more independent and resourceful.
A Legacy of Adventure
The teen still remembers his neighbor, Abbott, the man who set the ball rolling.“He was absolutely lovely,” Max said. “He was the only 70-year-old I knew that had a climbing wall in his garage, and he was just an amazing person. I think the bond we had was we both liked the outdoors.”
Max struggled as a child with hearing impairment and hypermobility, which he overcame through sports and a positive mental attitude. It was this same tenacity that saw him thrive as Tent Boy and inspired the legacy his adventure leaves behind.
“I think it’s lovely that the legacy is the fact that people now take children a bit more seriously, and see that they can achieve,” Rachel said, adding, “Whilst Max has met these famous people, the people that have had the most impact on his life are other children who are now his friends who are doing amazing things.”
Max is friends with a little girl called Harmony who lost all four limbs to meningitis and is raising money to help other children, and a little boy who is halfway through a three-year treatment for leukemia who is raising money for hospitals.
She is grateful that her son is a part of that group.
Rachel also hopes that her son will find his way in the world as Max, and not as Tent Boy. To that end, Max already has a long-term goal: he wants to become a professional rugby player. In the meantime, with his experience, he plans to visit rugby clubs around the UK and get involved in raising money for their chosen causes.
“Children can do more than people think they can, there’s not just adults that can do amazing things,” Max said. “We’ve got nothing to lose, let’s give it a go!”
