Whenever I write an article, I look forward to writing something positive, creative and fun. After all, working within the marketing department for a t shirt printing company is all about being creative. It’s about taking inspiration from the world around and crafting thoughtful, intelligent articles which our readers can learn from. Unfortunately, though, as with everything in life, there are times when you hear stories that are devastating and you feel like you just want to get involved and try to help out as much as you possibly can.
This article is one of those occasions.
Recently we were contacted by the parents of Matthew Riley with regards to providing them with personalised t shirts to help them raise money for three different charities.
Matthew Riley was an incredibly popular and talented student who had a bright future ahead of him. This was until he was tragically killed in a moped crash whilst he was backpacking around Cambodia where he was helping out by teaching children in the area how to swim.
Matthew was only 23 years old and was from Ketton, Rutland. His selfless nature had led him to use his summer break from studying Psychology and Marketing at the University of Lincoln to visit Cambodia and provide vital help to the community. Tragically, the accident which took Matthew’s life happened in the early hours of September 13th, 2015, just a few days before he was due to fly home.
Mrs Riley, Matthew’s mother, said:
“He has always been gifted. When he was 14-years old he decided to shave off his hair for charity.
“The details of the accident are very sketchy. We will never know what happened. We keep hearing things but we don’t know.
“He was very careful and always wore a full-faced helmet. Matthew was staying at a nearby hostel where the crash happened. We spoke everyday. He was due to do his last year at university. The university has been very good. They invited us to his graduation in September so he can still graduate.”
As well as graduating this year, Matthew had also planned to take part in the Three Peaks Challenge – a challenge which involves climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon, the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales.
His intention was to raise sponsorship money which would then be donated to two different causes – Diabetes UK and Mind – in memory of his late grandfather, Kevin Dowling, who had sadly died eight years earlier, and his Aunt, Marie Dowling, who died three years ago.
Tragically, Matthew now won’t get the chance to see his plans through. However, his family members and friends have decided that they will tackle the three peaks in Matthew’s honour – while also raising additional funds for Cambodian children’s charity – CamKids.
“Matthew had spent some of his time in Cambodia helping to teach children to swim. That was very typical of him. He was a very sociable person and keen to help out where he could.
“The inequality in Cambodia is huge. There’s some very wealthy people driving around in nice cars and some extremely poor people, especially children living on the streets.”
In preparation for the event, we at Garment Printing were incredibly humbled to be asked to create the personalised clothing that will be worn during the event. Inspired by Matthew’s generosity and kindness, I would also like to help them raise as much money as possible to support these three incredibly worthwhile causes.
If you’d like to find out more about Matthew, Matt’s Mammoth Mountain Challenge or if you’d like to donate money for these causes – you can visit the GoFundMe page that has been set up for Matt’s Mammoth Mountain Challenge.
Please, while you’re there, dig deep and donate whatever you can spare to help support these charities and help Matthew’s legacy live on.
