THE family and friends of a Kingswood teenager who died from a single stab wound earlier this year are channelling their grief into raising funds and awareness of knife crime.
Mikey Roynon, 16, died after being stabbed at a birthday party in Bath in June. Two boys, aged 15 and 16, have been charged with Mikey’s murder and are expected to appear in court in December. Another 15-year-old boy was also charged with murder on October 24.
Mikey’s mum Hayley Ryall has set up a charity, Mikey’s World, in his memory. She is backed by Mikey’s dad Spike, her partner Scott, and relatives and friends.
Her aim is to get children off the streets and into positive activities at boxing gyms and music studios and to make young people and adults aware of methods that can help save lives after knife injuries.
The charity is raising funds to buy bleed control kits, containing emergency dressings and tourniquets to stop catastrophic bleeding. Supporters want to get these out to pubs, clubs and shops – and they are having a strong response from across the area.
A training session held at Hanham Community Centre in October was well received and Hayley now hopes to organise another in Kingswood.
Hayley told the Voice: “It’s completely heartbreaking to lose your child. We need to do something to help our local community, raise awareness and stop this happening to other families.”
The first big fundraiser was a 50k sponsored walk from Chippenham to Bristol, which brought in more than £4,000. A second sponsored walk, up Pen y Fan, took place on October 7, while a Golf Day at the Players Club in Codrington raised £4,500.
Supporters are planning other activities including an Iron Man challenge, a London Marathon run, a five-a-side football competition, coffee mornings, skittles and bowling evenings.
Hayley said: “I can’t thank them enough. The local community have really pulled together over this cause and given me a little faith back in humanity.”
You can support Mikey’s World by following and sharing the Facebook page or donating to the Mikey’s World Just Giving fundraising link