When 11-year-old Max Woosey from Devon, England began sleeping in a tent last year, it wasn’t because the kid in him wanted to experience camping. Max wanted to raise £100 for his neighbor, Rick.

Max took on both summer and winter, toughening up in his tent just so he could raise the money.

The cold and the heat didn’t matter to this kid, sleeping in his tent for 500 nights and raising £640,000 (about $880,490).

“It feels amazing to reach 500 nights,” Max told The Guardian. “It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long because so many cool things have happened since I started camping. I never ever thought that it would last this long, but I absolutely love it.”

Max’s parents, Rachael and Mark Woosey, were the ones caring for Rick Abbott, who was then suffering from terminal cancer. It was North Devon Hospice that gave Rick lots of support during his final days.

Max’s tent came from Rick. Fundraising events for the hospice got canceled when lockdowns were announced because of COVID-19. Max took charge.

Fan mail began arriving for “The Boy in the Tent, Braunton, Devon.”

He even met Boris Johnson!

Rachael shared,

“It started off as my little 10-year-old boy camping out in the garden for a few nights and hoping to raise £100. None of us can really believe what has happened,” she said.

Max set a target of £100. When lockdown rules were extended, Max decided to tough it out in his tent.

He began to attract a lot of attention with donations to his JustGiving page coming in nonstop.

There was a moment when Max’s tent blew down and his mom called him in. Tough little Max refused. One evening, there was a thunderstorm so naturally, she was concerned.

Max told her that he knew the storm was far away as he would count in between the thunder and lightning. Get this little boy on a Bear Grylls show!

“He told me: ‘I knew I wasn’t going to die.’”

And just how tough is Max?

He contracted Covid-19. Max didn’t care, continuing to sleep in his tent and braving out the elements.

His father, Mark is a Royal Marine, couldn’t stop beaming saying he was super proud of his son’s accomplishment.

“I think he likes the freedom sleeping in the tent,” he said. “Nobody is checking exactly what time he goes to sleep. He has a bit of control.”

Max reached his goal for the hospice, but it looks like the outdoor bug has bit him. He has no plans of stopping, saying he loves nature.

“If it stops being fun, I’ll come in. But I can’t imagine that,” he said.

What started out as a means of helping his former neighbor (may he rest in peace) turned out to be an incredible achievement for the hospice. Rick would be super proud to see what his tent has done for Max.

Watch some of Max’s moments in the video below!

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Source: My Positive Outlooks, The Boy In The Tent