Stockton Heath pupil will trek 40 miles to raise money for Alder Hey

Stockton Heath Primary School year two pupil, Harvey Goodman, will walk from his school on West Avenue to Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester over a period of two days in April in honour of his cousin who is receiving treatment for cancer at the children’s hospital.

He will be joined on his journey by family members, friends, staff from the school and Man United legend Sammy McIlroy.

Harvey will begin his expedition at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool at 9am on April 1 and will finish the first day at Stockton Heath Primary.

Day two, he will set off from the school at approximately 8.30am with the goal of reaching the end destination of Man United’s ground at 4.30pm.

This is the second year Harvey has taken on a walking challenge to raise money for a good cause, having walked from his school to Old Trafford last year in a bid to help fund a new playground for the pupils at Stockton Heath primary.

Harvey and former Man United player, Sammy McIlroy (Image: Supplied)

The previous year was a success with Harvey managing to raise a whopping £8,000 for his school and had national news channels including the BBC and Sky News follow his journey.

Proud mother Naiomi Goodman said as soon as her son found out about his cousin Zak’s cancer diagnosis he immediately wanted to help.

“Harvey’s cousin who is the same age has got cancer. The family found out back in June and Zak has been in the hospital receiving chemotherapy,” she said.

“Alder Hey are incredible, they have been amazing to Zak.”

A Just Giving Page has been set up by the family to raise money for the hospital and to support Zak’s family during such difficult times.

The initial goal was to raise £10,000 but the total has already exceeded this with donations over £11,000 currently.

“Initially he wanted to walk from Wembley Stadium to Old Trafford, but we decided to scale it back a little,” Naiomi said.

Naiomi has been training hard with Harvey, hiking for three hours or more most weekends in preparation for the big day.

“He reads messages on the funding page, and it really inspires him. When we go on walks if he is feeling tired, I read him some of the messages to help him along.”

“We are so proud of him and his determination. We are super excited to see what he does in the future.”

Former United player, Sammy McIlroy joined Harvey on his journey last year and was just as keen to be by his side again for this challenge.

Speaking of the special bond Harvey and Mcllroy have built during the year, Naiomi said: “They have the best relationship, we celebrate birthdays together, he takes him to matches, they have an amazing relationship.”

Harvey met Sir Alex Ferguson when he completed his walk from Stockton Heath Primary to Old Trafford last year to raise money for his school (Image: Supplied)

Head teacher at Stockton Heath Primary, Daniel Harding described the year two pupil as ‘selfless, kind and caring’.

“Harvey is a very special boy indeed. He loves being challenged, both academically and physically,” Mr Harding said.

“He is very sporty and passionate about football in particular. Harvey is also a great friend to his peers, an incredibly selfless, kind and caring person who always wants to do good for others.

“Last year Harvey raised in excess of £8000 for school. His fundraising contributed hugely towards our playground development project, and we are eternally grateful to him for this.

“I have absolutely no doubt that he will not only rise to this challenge but will absolutely smash it.

“I cannot stress enough what a wonderful child Harvey is.

“He is a model pupil in school with exemplary behaviour and attitude to learning but it his thoughtfulness for others that truly sets him apart – what a star.”

Harvey and Stockton Heath Primary head teacher, Daniel Harding (Image: Supplied)

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital cares for over 330,000 young patients every year having initially opened in 2015. As well as providing essential care for sick children, it also leads important research into children’s healthcare.

A spokesperson for Alder Hey Children’s Charity said: “We’re delighted that Harvey has chosen to undertake such an amazing challenge to raise money for Alder Hey in support of his cousin and the 330,000 children treated at the hospital every year.

“His incredible effort will make a real difference to patients and their families by helping to fund life-saving equipment, vital research and healthcare innovation.

“Every step of Harvey’s walk and every penny donated will help to sprinkle a bit of magic at Alder Hey and we look forward to joining and supporting him along the way.”

Harvey will walk from Alder Hey Hospital to Old Trafford over two days to raise money for the children's charity (Image: Supplied)