Two children who were inspired by footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign for free school meals have launched their own fundraiser to tackle food poverty.
Jamie, 11, and Zoë, 9, are asking friends, family, and generous strangers to donate a fiver in aid of national charities FareShare and Place2Be.
Proof that a little goes a long way, the siblings from Richmond have already raised over £1750 since the funding page was launched almost two weeks ago (October 23).
The children are splitting the donations between Fareshare, a charity fighting food poverty, and Place2Be, which funds mental health support in schools.
“We’re doing this because no child should go to bed feeling hungry or anxious.
“We know that being hungry will affect children’s ability to concentrate in school, their sleep, their behaviour and their mental health,” said Jamie, a pupil at Queen’s Church of England School.
Mum, Annie, said the duo are determined to keep going even now the holidays are over.
“People’s finances have been affected hugely this year and many do already give a lot but we’re not asking for huge amounts. A fiver is less than a pint in a pub or book in a shop.”
“It’s awful to think children are going hungry in the holidays as the temperature drops, it shouldn’t be too much to ask for a child to have a warm meal.”
Even though a second lockdown has prevented the siblings from taking on physical challenges to boost their total the children’s motivation has remained high.
They are aiming to hit the £7,000 mark by taking "little steps in the right direction."
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