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Boy sleeps in tent for 3 years, raises $860,000 for hospice

Max Woosey of Devon, England, spent three years sleeping outdoors in a tent and raised more than $860,000 for a local hospice. Photo courtesy of Guinness World Records
Max Woosey of Devon, England, spent three years sleeping outdoors in a tent and raised more than $860,000 for a local hospice. Photo courtesy of Guinness World Records

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March 29 (UPI) -- A young British boy who slept in a tent in his family's yard for three years to raise money for charity is headed back inside after raising more than $860,000 for a hospice and breaking a Guinness World Record.

Max Woosey was 10 years old when he started his "Boy in the Tent" project in the yard of his family's Devon, England, home on March 28, 2020, and he spent his last night outdoors Tuesday, exactly three years later.

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Woosey started the project as a fundraiser for North Devon Hospice, the facility that cared for his neighbor, Rick Abbot, who died of cancer in 2020.

"Before my neighbor died of cancer, he gave me a tent and told me to 'have an adventure,'" Woosey told Guinness World Records.

Woosey, whose nights in the tent were chronicled on social media, raised more than $860,000 with his project, earning the world record for most money raised by camping (individual), GWR said.

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Woosey's social media fame during his project led to his being allowed to pitch his tent to spend nights in locations including the London Zoo, the garden at No. 10 Downing Street and the Twickenham Rugby Grounds.

"I have had the best three years of my life. I have met some amazing people and had brilliant experiences. I don't think I would change anything," Woosey said. "I only set out to have an adventure and raise £100 [$123.09]. It is crazy that it has got so much attention but I hope it makes people see that children are capable of a lot more than people think."

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