A COVENTRY dad whose son died at the age of 13 is cycling more than 700 miles with four friends in nine days to visit all 20 football Premier League grounds.
It began last Saturday and tomorrow (Sunday), David Cowen’s cycle in memory of Rhys who lost his short battle with Rhabdomyo Sarcoma on June 17, 2020, will arrive at the Coventry Building Society (CBS) Arena.
The Raising the Hopes of Young Stars team have already been to most of the clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Leeds, Newcastle United and Chelsea.
Today they will be at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground before heading to the Sky Blues tomorrow.
Rhys’ was very active and enjoyed watching and playing multiple sports.
He supported Coventry City FC and played junior football for Christ the King FC.
Rhys’ dying wish was that his dad would raise cash to help other children and their families facing cancer with the funding going towards providing special days out for them.
Joining Dave on the ride have been Pete Jaynes, Steve Widdowson, Bob Pinfold and Allan Cummings and the ‘Raising the Hope of Young Stars’ team have already smashed their £5,000 fund-raising target and now want to generate as much money as possible.
The not for profit charity has started to provide days out for young stars and their parents and/or siblings.
Dave said: “Our Rhys had the opportunity to experience days out in between treatment which made such a difference.
“‘Ride for Rhys 2’ is an event which will raise funds for Raising the Hopes of
Young Stars – RHYS – the charity in his memory.
“The challenge is even bigger and harder than last year and we need every pound to get us around.
“Your kind donations will make such a difference.”
The team also wants to thank Joe Donnelly for driving and physio, KBTS for supplying van and fuel and sponsor Mirius for providing the group with hotel accommodation.
Visit raisingthehopesofyoungstars.co.uk for more on the charity.
Click here to donate via the fund-raising page.
The event will be tracked on media platforms on route – click here for Twitter and here for the Facebook page
