“Impressive" young cyclist raises £2,500 for homeless

Tuesday 09 June 2020

A nine-year-old has raised over £2,500 for a charity providing emergency accommodation and support to homeless people by cycling 74k in a day – inspiring some of his friends to also start fundraising.

Jacob Smith completed his ride, which followed a route spelling the word ‘help’, in just over six hours at the weekend.

As his mum, Jennie, explained, Jacob has been concerned about the issue of homelessness for the past three years.

Pictured: Jacob and his dad cycled for over six hours to complete the 74k ride.

“When he was aged six, he became aware of people who were homeless, had fallen on hard times and were considerably less fortunate than him,” she said.

“It profoundly affected him, made him incredibly upset and this concern has stayed with him.”

Last year at Christmas, Jacob asked Santa Claus for a jar to collect money for homeless people as part of the four items he was allowed.

After his parents told him about the covid-19 pandemic and how it could affect the health and finances of islanders, Jacob decided to raise funds for the Shelter Trust and planned his 74k ride with the help of his dad.

Pictured: The road Jacob followed spelled out the word 'help'.

After reading about Jacob’s challenge in Express, Guy Le Maistre, the charity’s Vice Chairman, contacted the Smith family.

He came to meet Jacob to thank him in person and wave him off on his ride. 

“Guy spent much of the day following Jacob's progress around the island, met up with him at various points and was at the finish to congratulate him,” Jennie said.

After a “breakfast of champions” – Nutella on toast - Jacob set off from his home in St. Lawrence at 09:00 with his dad, feeling “nervous and excited at the same time”.

The pair then stopped for an ice-cream and a rest at 10:30 at the Gunsite Café, where some of Jacob’s friends and the charity’s trustees came to offer their encouragements. 

Pictured: Guy le Maistre, the Shelter Trust Vice Chairman, supported Jacob during his ride.

Jacob’s friends came to meet him over lunch as well, as he stopped at la Frégate, and some even came riding with him to complete the 'P' of help.

As he was about to finish the 'P', Jacob sadly took a tumble after hitting a rock in a descent in Trinity. As Jennie said, he “bravely” got straight back on his bike with a sore knee and a hole in his cycling leggings to complete the ride just after 15:30.

Many islanders showed their support for the young boy during the ride, either by waving at him during the ride or making donations on his fundraising page.

“As he cycled through St. Ouen, one lady ran out of her house and shouted, 'Are you Jacob? I have just sponsored you!'” Jennie said. “A few cars even beeped and congratulated him on his route.

“The sponsorship money steadily ticked up over the last few days with all of the amazing media coverage. We thank your readers for all of their kind sponsorship.”

Pictured: Jacob's mum and sister showing their support for him.

Many also shared words of encouragement on Jacob’s fundraising page, which Jennie said made him feel really happy and “helped him when he was struggling up some of the hills”. 

“Jacob says there are two reasons that he undertook this activity, first to raise money to help the homeless but also to inspire others to fundraise on their behalf,” the proud mum explained.

“Some young friends have already contacted him to say that he inspired them to set up a little stall outside their house and they will be donating the money to The Shelter Trust.” 

The Shelter Trust praised the young boy for his achievement and thanked him for his support.

"Shelter is seeing unprecedented demand for its services and we're currently supporting around 200 people across a range of sites,” Mr Le Maistre said.

“This increased level of activity comes at considerable cost and so we're extremely grateful to Jacob (and his Dad) for their fantastic fundraising efforts.

“It's been a pleasure to meet such an impressive (and unassuming) young man."

CLICK HERE to donate to Jacob's fundraising page.