A Jersey teenager is cycling the equivalent distance between her home and the UK hospital where her younger sister is receiving treatment to raise money for the charity supporting families facing similar journeys.
Rosie Hargreaves’s ‘Journey of Hope’ will see her cycle 464 miles (746km) over six weeks – the same distance from her Jersey home to the hospital where her sister Esme is being treated.
The challenge aims to raise money and awareness for Family First Jersey, which supports families when a child has to travel off-island for specialist medical treatment.
The charity has supported 384 families since 2018.
Rosie’s mother Katie Hargreaves said the family first came into contact with Family First after Rosie herself was treated at the same hospital three years ago.
“Three years ago, Rosie was also in the same hospital that Esme is currently in. That’s how we first met Family First, and they really supported us,” she said.
She explained that Rosie wanted to find a meaningful way to give something back.
“Rosie just said to me one day: ‘Mum, I really want to give back to Family First and do something.'”
Rather than taking on a typical fundraising challenge, Rosie calculated the distance between her Jersey postcode and the hospital where Esme is being treated for her mental-health, inspiring the 464-mile ride.
Throughout the challenge, Rosie will be accompanied by a Brave Bear attached to her bike.
The Family First bear is identical to the one Esme has with her in hospital and serves as a reminder that “no one has to face their journey alone”.
“Family First gives these teddies to all children who are off-island and also their siblings because they know the significant emotional effect that having a loved one off-island is,” explained Katie.
“As the girls can’t see each other at the moment, Rosie wanted to do something that Esme could almost come along with, so her teddy bear can be attached to her bike and it means that Esme is also on this journey with her.”
The mother described the charity’s support as extending far beyond financial assistance, including counselling, UK SIM cards, accommodation arrangements and practical help.
“They offer counselling, the bears, and help with financial support. They give you a UK SIM card, and they’ll sort out the nearest Travelodge. It’s just incredible. They take such a weight off. It feels like they’re holding you, like physically holding you.”
Katie said visiting Esme currently costs the family around £500 each weekend.
“Each weekend is about £500 to visit Esme, and she should be there for about six or seven months, so that’s a lot of money,” she added.
That figure also inspired the fundraising target, with the family hoping to raise enough to cover a similar weekend’s costs for another family.
Katie said families can often feel reluctant to ask for financial help.
“I think there’s so much stigma still around mental health and still so much when it comes to finances,” she said.
“We’re not great at talking about finances, we are almost a bit embarrassed asking for help, but for other families, please know that there is always help out there.”
She added that the response from Islanders had been overwhelming.
“We’ve been blown away by the financial support,” she said. “I think Jersey comes into its own in times like this. It’s a special community.”
While Katie said she understood that providing more specialist treatment on the island “isn’t necessarily possible”, she believes more should be done to support families who have no choice but to travel.
“But if we can’t have things on the island, then we have to have the finances to back families going off,” she added.
“We have to get this better so that families’ energies aren’t caught up with worrying about finances.”
Family First Jersey chief executive Cheryl Dolbel said: “When a child from Jersey needs off-island treatment, it can be really difficult for the whole family, especially brothers and sisters who suddenly find themselves separated. Our Brave Bears give them something to hold on to so they still feel connected.
“We think Rosie is amazing for taking on this challenge for us. Seeing her cycling with her Brave Bear while her sister holds the matching bear in the hospital shows just how much these little bears mean.”
DONATE…
Islanders can sponsor Rosie’s ‘Journey of Hope’ online.
