Young Warwick brothers give Leamington care home first significant donation in months after sponsored run and bike ride

The took part in their charity challenge around Hatton Park
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Two brothers from Warwick aged just seven and eight have raised the spirits of residents and staff at a Leamington care home after giving them its first significant donation in months.

Simeon and Ben Bryan raised over £400 for the Helen Ley Care Centre – run by Castel Froma Neuro Care - by doing a sponsored run and bike ride around nearby Hatton Park.

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Inspired by Comic Relief earlier in the year, Ben and Simeon wanted to do some of their own fundraising for charity.

From left: Alexandru Albu (deputy clinical manager); Mrs Clack and Mr Arnold (Helen Ley residents); Ben Bryan, Simeon Bryan with their parents. Photo suppliedFrom left: Alexandru Albu (deputy clinical manager); Mrs Clack and Mr Arnold (Helen Ley residents); Ben Bryan, Simeon Bryan with their parents. Photo supplied
From left: Alexandru Albu (deputy clinical manager); Mrs Clack and Mr Arnold (Helen Ley residents); Ben Bryan, Simeon Bryan with their parents. Photo supplied

The brothers decided to raise money for Helen Ley Care Centre as two of the members of Emmanuel Church’s congregation – where they regularly attend with their parents – currently lives there.

Simeon proactively phoned the care centre himself to ask about how to get sponsorship forms for his challenge.

Once staff at Helen Ley had explained how to raise money and had given them the forms, Ben and Simeon’s mum and dad helped drum up support through friends, family and neighbours.

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On the day of the run and bike ride, in one hour, Ben ran three laps of Hatton Park, while Simeon cycled six laps. Friends and neighbours were in Hatton Park to cheer them on their way.

Soon after Ben and Simeon had finished, the boys went into Helen Ley Care Centre’s reception – following Covid guidelines – and presented them with their collected sponsorship money.

Some residents also came out to meet them at a distance and congratulate them for their efforts.

Ben and Simeon’s parents said: “The boys were so chuffed with their achievement, and I think the support from our friends and neighbours at Hatton Park on the day really spurred them on.

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“They felt a great sense of pride when they presented the money to staff at Helen Ley in person, and we’re thankful to the staff for making that possible.

“Ben and Simeon know how hard the staff have been working at the centre during the pandemic, so I’m so proud of them for raising the money and giving everyone there a big boost.”

Amarpreet Sandhar, operations support administrator at Helen Ley, said the donation meant a lot to the care centre as it had not received much in the way of donations for several months.

“The staff were so pleased with what Ben and Simeon had done to raise money for us, especially after such a challenging year for us” she said.

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“We haven’t had a significant donation like that for quite some time now, so it’s really nice of Ben and Simeon to have done this for our residents.

“And it was lovely to have Simeon phone us up himself – it’s not often we get seven-year-old boys giving us a call.

“We’re going to speak to the residents about how we’ll spend the money raised – we’d really like to treat them after what has been a very difficult year.

"We can’t thank Ben and Simeon enough for their kindness.”

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