A STAGGERING £10,000 has been raised for the British Heart Foundation by kind-hearted cyclists in the memory of a Studley youngster who sadly passed away last year.
Simon Stanley organised the event, Jords Wey 150, which saw 29 people ride from Studley to Weymouth to honour his best friend Jordan Smith who was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect when he was just 11-years-old.
He then went on to have a very rare type of heart surgery in March 2015.
The operation, carried out at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, lasted more than 12 hours and had only been performed 20 time in the last 15 years.
Although the surgery was deemed a success and Jordan recovered well he deteriorated and despite doctors’ best efforts passed away on June 27 aged just 16.
Simon and Jordan had planned to take on the mammoth challenge from their homes to his grandparents house on the south coast together.
And when Jordan passed Simon was determined to complete the ride in his memory, with more cyclists singing up to join him, ranging from the youngest aged 19 to the Jordan’s grandad who got in the saddle at the age of 71-years-old.
The group went out in force from Studley high School, where Jordan was a student, and arrived on May 1, what would have been his 17th birthday.
Jordan’s mum Jo Desmond, said: “The day went so well and I just really want to thank all the riders and everyone who helped us raise so much money. We could not have done it without Wendy Roberts and Gerry Stanley who followed the riders in the vehicle kindly provided by Studley High School, or without the headteacher, Lee Gray’s support.
“You don’t appreciate how hard it is to raise these massive sums of money for charity until you try and do it yourself.
“It was wonderful to have everyone around me on his birthday. They were all such a huge support. The route went passed the church where he is buried which made it even more special.”
The group also released balloons in the teenager’s memory and had a party afterwards.
Jo said they would try and host something every year in memory of her son but not as ‘epically big’ as this event.
Donations to the cause can still be made by visiting www.justgiving.com/JordsWey150
