On the weekend 26-27 November, Robinites cycled 24 hours non-stop in a spinning bike marathon to raise money for OC Alex Smith.
Alex was diagnosed with grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme (GMB) in 2015, the most aggressive form of brain tumour. He has already gone through three life-saving operations. However, a miraculous, but highly expensive, form of immunotherapy is now giving him an excellent chance of winning this battle.
Alex was Robinite’s Housemaster Mr Hearn’s tutee when he was at Charterhouse and Alex’s mother Tessa is a family friend to many of the boys and girls in the house and is regularly taking photos of various year groups for Mr Hearn.
Their strong connection to Robinites and our great affection for them made us particularly motivated to undertake this challenge to raise as much as possible so we can do as much as we can to save Alex’s life.
As a house we cycled on spinning bikes non-stop for 24 hours with everyone having various shifts to cycle for a certain periods of time. Particular congratulations must go to STH for doing the ‘graveyard shift’ in the early hours of the morning!
The event was a great success and it was wonderful to see such enthusiasm and dedication shown by the whole house in getting involved. It was a challenge but one that I think everyone enjoyed and was eager to support a really exceptional cause.
So far we have raised over £7000 and counting which far exceeds what we expected to reach. Thank you to all who donated it is very much appreciated as every contribution is crucial in helping to save Alex’s life.
Special thanks to Messrs Nicholls, Beasant, Ostle and of course our housemaster Mr Hearn for their help and support in undertaking what was a highly successful and worthwhile fundraising event.
Hamish McKinnon (R, 2YS)
Any donations to this very worthwhile cause, would be hugely appreciated by all in Robinites, Alex and his family. Please see the link to our fundraising page: https://www.gofundme.com/robinites-bikeathon-for-alex-smith
Here is the link to a video Alex made for a recent fundraising initiative; it is distressing but very powerful and moving footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9xaqGoW80Q
The Oak @ Charterhouse 