A local school boy who recently turned thirteen decided to do something special for his Bar Mitzvah in aid of Haven House. Not only did Josh decide to challenge himself to mark his coming of age ceremony by running 100km, but he also tackled Covid while doing so.

Despite the setback he remained determined to complete his goal and Mum Lisa recalls a precious moment shared between the two when Josh was very poorly but thought of the children at Haven House and he wanted to complete the challenge.

Josh is a big football fan and regularly trains and plays with his friends. With his Bar Mitzvah and birthday approaching, Josh asked himself what he could do to truly commemorate the occasion and decided to give back to children and families at Haven House; making him a real Haven House Hero.

Josh was not alone in his fundraising and it didn’t take long until Dad, Anthony and later Mum and sister, Lisa and Sophie decided to join in occasionally too. The 100km run was completed over the course of 30 days during March, running approximately 3.5km a day.

Despite all the obstacles, they kept telling one another “if we don’t run today, we will make up for it tomorrow”. Choosing to keep going and make up for lost time, Josh decided to double the amount he was doing per day. Running in all conditions and in fact, some of Josh’s fondest moments were running in the rain.

Come rain or shine and no matter the challenge, nothing could stop them.

To celebrate the completion of his run, Josh and his family were greeted by a grand cheering squad of staff as he ran his final steps through Haven House gates. He was presented with a trophy and banner created by the Haven House children he wanted to help.

Upon receiving his award, Josh’s Dad expressed that he enjoyed the experience so much that he now intends on pursuing more running challenges in the future as he wants to keep it up and would like to take on a Haven House event later in the year.

Come rain or snow, Josh never gave up for the children and families at Haven House.