They arrived back to a packed out welcome home party at Pub on the Park in Hackney, where friends and family were waiting to congratulate them on their emotional journey. After some beers and tears, and a few speeches, exhaustion set in they were ready for a very long sleep.

Their ultimate goal was to raise money for The Stuart Feakins Trust and Great Ormand Street Hospital. Money is still coming in, so thank to everyone who donated, it will go a long way to carry on Stuart’s legacy of supporting disadvantaged young people.

If you missed their incredible journey you can still read their blog here

Nick Tyson

Nick Tyson, guitarist in the band Gentleman’s Dub Club and member of the same cycling club as Andy, is joining the boys on their epic ride. This is amazing news and the SFT is incredibly grateful to him.

If you’re unfamiliar with this fantastic band check them out at http://gentlemansdubclub.com/the-band/

More to follow…

The journey will begin on Tuesday 20th September 2011 and will be arriving in Hackney on Sunday 2nd October 2011. There will also be an opportunity for fellow fundraisers to join the team and ride the Dover to Hackney (1 day, Sunday) leg or Paris to Hackney (3 days, Friday to Sunday). This will be a great challenge for those interested and a wonderful way to raise some money for The Stuart Feakins Trust.

If you are interested, get in touch and we’ll keep you posted with the upcoming details.

This was an important moment to mark the Trust’s progress in fulfilling its vision of helping children and young people in and around Hackney to benefit from sports, arts and learning projects that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

During the evening the audience heard inspiring presentations from two of the organisations the Trust has supported.

John Larter from Hackney Primary Schools Football Association talked movingly about the impact on young people’s lives of being able to participate in the Jersey Festival of Football.

Nadia Hoque from the Hackney Learning Trust shared stories and photos from a six-week horse riding course for children with complex learning needs.

And in a charity raffle, AGM attendees won a bounty of DVDs kindly donated by Universal Pictures.

The AGM looked at forthcoming fundraising projects, including the sponsored cycle ride from Denia in Spain to Hackney lead by Andy Feakins (Stuart’s brother) and his friends Simon Thurston and Daniel Cocklin.

The Stuart Feakins Trust would like to thank them for their generous offer.

The children came from the following schools: Millfield; St John & St. James; Lauriston and Seabright. Lessons are held Monday and Wednesday mornings. 

The group were divided into two, so that five rode at a time, while the others had a snack in the canteen.  

As it was such a beautiful day, after a brief trial walk around the exercise arena, the horses and riders were led into the grounds.  

One beautiful little girl, who had great difficulty in walking by herself, sat upright and confident once placed on the horse. She was so much at ease, one could be forgiven in thinking she had been riding for years! Several others were timid and unsure at first, but they soon relaxed and began to enjoy themselves once the horses were moving. It was obvious that contact with the animals had a positive affect on all the children – their happy smiling faces said it all.  

We were given a copy of a book each child would receive as a memento, and for follow-up work and discussion . It contained photographs, symbols and words describing their riding experiences. Later, at school and home they would be encouraged to share their personal thoughts with friends and family.  

The children gained a good deal from this project and we sincerely hope the Learning Trust can offer further support in the future.  

We also had a good time and were pleased to be invited.  

Dorothy and Norman 

Stuart Feakins Trustee Steve Herbert said “What a fantastic gesture by Tracy, Jemma and many of the colleagues within the Learning Trust to raise such a substantial amount of funds”.  It is appreciated by all the Trustees and we will ensure that every last penny raised, goes to benefiting many young people and organisations to make a difference to those projects”

The night was a huge success and raised over £20,000. Guest Jonathan Jerreat described the event as ‘a truly fantastic evening. Stuart would’ve been exceptionally proud.’ Special thanks go to organiser Sarah Wright and the rest of the events team at Barclays.