support Matt Melbourne's boys, Freddie (11) & Toby (8)

Hi, this page is in memory of Matt Melbourne who sadly passed away on 4th January, 3 weeks after finding out he had cancer. The page aims to give some financial support to his family, both short term whilst they grieve the loss of their beloved Dad and husband as well as supporting his two boys towards a bright future - something their Dad Matt worked tirelessly for.

See the challenges being taken on by friends, families and people who are just inspired by Matt's story at the end of this thread

Matt's Story

Matt was a family man with a wife and two boys, Freddie & Toby who he adored and loved. He worked long hours to give his family a good life and provide everything they could wish for. Early in 2024 Matt started renovating his dream home for the family, spending nearly every weekend for a year trying to make the house perfect for them. Matt was a selfless man; his aim was not only to give them all a happy place to share memories, but to offer financial support for the boys in the future.

What's more, Matt brought communities together. He turned his garage into the "Melbourne Arms" pub, where neighbours, family, work colleagues and friends spent many happy hours together. Everyone was welcome in the Melbourne Arms and many great memories were created there over the years.

But in October 2024 Matt started to feel unwell and didn't have an appetite for food or, more alarmingly, a can of Strongbow with his mates. Many visits to the doctors followed. No-one was sure what was wrong, but the pain got worse and Matt was admitted to hospital. In mid December Matt and his family received the worst possible news: he had Pancreatic Cancer and was given up to 9 months to a year to live. Unfortunately, Matt deteriorated quickly. He used all his strength to return home for a last Christmas with his boys, Freddie aged 10 and Toby 8. Matt returned to hospital shortly after Christmas day, and the family celebrated his 46th and final birthday on 2 January. He passed away two days later.

Matt didn't get to finish the dream house for the family and they've been left with no option but to sell the house to pay off the loan used to purchase the property. Matt was a proud man and was able to provide a good life for his boys, who have now had their lives turned upside down. Life will be very different for the boys now, not only missing their Dad at such a vulnerable age but experiencing a big change in the opportunities in life their Dad wanted to provide for them.

We are honouring Matt's memory not by asking people to simply make a donation for the family, but by inviting you to sponsor challenges taken up by people inspired by Matt's story to push themselves to the limit to raise money to support Matt's boys. The money raised will help them continue to live the life Matt started for them.

If you want to do a challenge to raise money for the Melbourne Boys then let us know and we'll add your challenge to the page.

Upcoming Challenges:

Challenge 1: Dave Turvey, Steve James, Dave's 9 yr old Daughter Mia and a team of lifeguards from Hathersage Swimming Pool will aim to swim 46 (Matt's age) miles between them on the 28th March starting at 3.00pm. There will be around 12 people carrying out this challenge, and the majority will have to swim a considerable distance further than they've ever swum before in order to reach the target.

Challenge 2: A group of Matt's close friends will take up the challenge of walking to the first camp site they all stayed at - exactly 23 miles from Matt's house. They will have to walk back the following day to make the challenge a 46 mile walk over the two days. Friends from Matt's road past and present will be taking part, those not braving the walk will be supporting the team with refreshments and a cooked meal waiting at the end. The walk will finish at the "Melbourne Arms" (AKA Matt's garage) on day 2. Date TBC.