What made you want to support Wood Street Mission?
I was looking through the Smyths toys catalogue and asked my Mum if all children get Christmas presents. Mum said that unfortunately some children don’t so I asked can we do something to help them. We went online to look for a local charity that helps families in poverty and that’s when we found Wood Street Mission.
What did you do to support us in 2021?
In 2021 I ran 5k in the Media City Run to raise money for Wood Street so they could get children all their essentials for school including school uniforms, I also collected 100s of Xmas presents.
How did you get your school involved with supporting the Christmas project?
I asked my Head Teacher to help me with the Christmas appeal and explained to her how important it was to help families and that all children should have something to open on Christmas Day. I also asked my friends in school to help with the appeal and school set up a toy drop off point in the playground for donations.
How did you get your local supermarket involved?
I wrote a letter to my local Tesco to ask them for help. I spoke to the manager and explained to her the reasons why I needed her help and could they set up a drop off point in store for donations. I explained why it was so important to get these donations as I really feel that no child should wake up sad on Christmas Day. The manager of the Store donated the money from their book club from that month (£600) and let me go round Tesco to pick the toys that I thought the children would like to wake up to on Christmas morning.
What was the most fun or rewarding part of supporting us?
The most rewarding part was definitely dropping the presents to Wood Street and watching the families go in and pick the toys for their children and coming out with a sense of relief that their children would have something to open on Christmas Day that’s down to me. I feel so proud that I could help in some way. Also waking up on Christmas morning knowing there’s children who wouldn’t normally be happy on Christmas Day and just for that one day, I’ve made them smile and be happy
How did it feel to be supporting a local charity?
Going into Wood Street Mission and seeing how hard everyone works all year round is definitely something that all people in our community should see. I loved going in and seeing how you help families. It’s a fantastic thing that they do and it makes me want to help them even more
What would you say to someone who was thinking about supporting Wood Street Mission?
If you were thinking of helping Wood Street then I would say just go ahead and do it. This charity work so hard all year round and rely on people from the community to support them even if it’s just sharing the word or talking in school about the struggles some families go through, we all need to look after each other and be kind. If you can help or are thinking of helping then just go ahead and do it. I promise it will be worth it when you see the happiness and sense of relief in the families you help
Who is your hero?
The person who inspired me was the footballer Marcus Rashford. I remember in lockdown watching him on the news talking about his mission to help end food poverty. I remember thinking wow, he really is a hero and how passionate he was to make a difference. I’m an Irish dancer and a lot of my time I’m training so when lockdown happened I had all this spare time and then I saw Marcus on the news he just really inspired me. My focus was to stay fit and to raise money for Wood Street. I decided that I would do a 5k run and the money I raised went towards school uniforms and essentials. I loved every minute of it, it was really hard but I felt so proud when I got across the finish line knowing I’ve helped so many children because no child should feel left out. Also, my family are my inspiration because no matter what I put my mind to, they’re always there to support me.
My favourite quote is: To be kind always ❤️
