Three years ago, my Daddy died.

Three years ago, the loss of a parent changed my life forever.

On this day today I ask you to help me to support other bereaved children like me and their families.  My name is Rupert Brooke and I am 7 years old. On 6th July I will become the youngest known person to cycle 200 miles from London to Paris to raise funds for the Children’s Bereavement Centre.  This is my story.

For the first four years of my life, I had the happiest childhood.  I lived with my Mummy and Daddy and our two naughty dogs, Saffi and Gin, in our little village in Leicestershire.  We did so many fun things as a family, like summer holidays together, lots of dog walks, watching Peppa Pig and my Daddy was teaching me to ride a bike, which I loved learning with him.

On 29 April 2019 my Daddy gave me a hug goodbye as he dropped me off at nursery.  It was the last hug he would ever give me, because that day he was killed in an unexpected accident at work.  I was only four and it was difficult for me to understand that I would never see him again, that he was never coming back.  Nothing was ever the same again and my life was changed forever.  My ‘Daddy Pig’ was my favourite person in the whole world.  He was the person I went to for everything: he made me laugh, he made me feel safe and he loved me so much.  And then he was gone forever.

My Mummy was looking after me but I could see that she was very sad and not the same anymore.  I was terrified that something could happen to her too.  When the pandemic happened, everyone who was helping us in our lives could not see us anymore.  I felt very sad, scared and alone.

Luckily, the Children’s Bereavement Centre in Newark has been there to help us all along.  They supported my Mummy and me through our saddest times. They helped me to understand the difficult feelings I was having and introduced me to other children who know how I feel so that we could have fun together and feel less alone.

I want to raise money for the Children’s Bereavement Center so that they can help more people like Mummy and me.  Riding my bike reminds me of my short time with my Daddy and that is why I’m asking you to back me on this very long journey.  Together we can raise the money whilst also making more memories in memory of my Daddy.

This will be a massive challenge for me, so I hope you will give as much as you can, even if it is small.  My legs are only little, but with your support I know we can make a huge difference to other bereaved children and I know I will make my Daddy very proud.