George Cussell had recently had a lesson in building dens at school so decided to build one in his lounge one Friday night. After George suggested he wanted to sleep in the den for a night his father Richard had jokingly challenged him to stay in the den for 48 hours which George happily accepted for fun.

The family then decided to set up a fundraising page to raise much needed funds for Essex’s only children’s hospice Little Havens, which provides palliative nursing and supportive care to babies, children and young people across the county living with complex or incurable conditions.

Richard said: “We are so proud of George for taking on this challenge and raising such an incredible amount of money for Little Havens, a very special local charity.  We weren’t sure if he would last the 48 hours, but he certainly persevered to raise money for a good cause and had lots of fun doing it – he only left the den for the bathroom and for 30 minutes of exercise.”

Rachel Hawksworth, Voluntary Income Team Leader at Havens Hospices said, “When I first heard of George’s fundraiser it certainly put a smile on my face – what a fun way to raise money for his local children’s hospice. We must raise over £40,000 each week to be there for every baby, child and young person who needs us, and it’s thanks to supporters like George we can continue to provide this frontline hospice care.”

Little Havens is part of Havens Hospices, which includes Fair Havens in Southend and The J’s – a community-based hospice service for young adults. All of the charity’s care is free of charge. Find out more about how you can fundraise for Havens Hospices visit www.havenshospices.org.uk/fundraising.

Published 1st February 2021