Stratford teen Archie dreaming of a skydive as next fundraising effort

A 15-YEAR-OLD from Stratford, who took on an abseiling down a hotel for charity last year, has continued to give back to the community by volunteering with a litter-picking group.

And he’s thinking about doing a skydive.

Archie Pearson who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2015, volunteered with Rubbish Friends for 13 weeks as part of his Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Bronze Award. He managed to collect an impressive 19 bags of litter around town between November and March – and his efforts didn’t go unrecognised. He received a certificate from national charity CleanupUK, having been nominated for the Young Litter Picker category.

Archie’s mum, Rosie, explained that their family has been supporting Rubbish Friends since 2017 because litter-picking “is something that as a family we are passionate about”.

The work won’t stop there, though, since the family will continue to join picks in the future.

Rosie added: “He keeps telling us he wants to do a skydive and knowing Archie this means that he will actually do this in the not too distant future.”

As reported by the Herald, Archie recently received a specially adapted electric trike thanks to a campaign organised by Stratford-based charity Cyclists Fighting Cancer (CFC).

Rosie added: “We were completely overwhelmed by the generosity of CFC and the community in funding the trike for Archie and so grateful to everyone who donated.”

Undeterred by the dizzying heights of his hotel abseil, Archie continued his “love of challenges” by taking a flying lesson in a biplane earlier this year thanks to the charity Aerobility.