Amazing Children In Lockdown

Kind Kids in Lockdown…

If ever there was a time when the kindness and potential of children to truly change the world was apparent, then the current pandemic is it. Despite having to deal with school closures, the complete shutdown of extra-curricular activities, a lack of social contact with their friends and all the anxiety that lockdown has bought, there have been stories of so many young people here and across the globe who’ve been doing amazing things to help others and raise money for good causes.

Frank Mills, age 6

Six year old Frank Mills, who has spina bifida, raised an astonishing £60,000 for NHS Charities Together by walking 10 metres a day! Having only learnt to walk 18 months previously he was inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore. After Frank asked a neighbour to sponsor him during his first walk, his mum set up a Just Giving page and shared a post on Facebook - it went viral! 

Tobias Weller, age 9

Another inspirational young boy encouraged to do his bit after seeing Captain Sir Tom Moore’s efforts is nine year old Tobias Weller, also known as Captain Tobias. Tobias, who has autism and cerebral palsy, completed his very own marathon, walking up and down his road for 70 days to cover a total distance of 52 miles. He was even joined by Olympic champion, Jessica Ennis for the last stretch. His remarkable achievement helped him to raise more than £137,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital and the Paces school he attends. 

Max Woosey, age 10

After hearing fundraising for hospices had been cancelled, nine year old Max from Somerset clocked up over 200 nights of camping outside, enduring heavy rain, thunderstorms and even an ants nest to raise money for the North Devon Hospice who helped look after his late neighbours, Rick and Sue. Rick left him the tent when he died from cancer in February with the instruction that Max promise to have an adventure in it! Well Max has certainly done that and has now extended his challenge with the aim of making it to a full year! Donations from across the globe now total over £16,000!

Sami, Lola, Rosa & Nico Nykanen

Katie and Ville Nykanen and their four children spent their time in lockdown taking on a variety of tasks to raise money for a cause close to their hearts - Shamida Children’s Home in Ethiopia. Having been born in the east African country and adopted by Katie and Ville, Sami and Lola both 10, Rosa, 8, and Nico, 6, their parents wanted to do something to honour their heritage.

Founded by Karen Kendall, the children’s home  is devoted to helping vulnerable women and children, providing care, support and development programmes. Tasks completed by the family include a 15 and 20km walk, 10km bike ride, gardening jobs, a six hour football-a-thon and handmade doughnuts which they sold around the community!

Jay Niblock, age 7

Likened to a ‘CEO’ by  his parents, seven year old Jay from Bradford raised over a thousand pounds to help distribute food packages to some of the city’s most vulnerable, after producing and selling his own tie-dye t-shirts online. Made from scratch Jay’s t-shirts have been an international success, with orders coming in from across the world including Canada, Norway and Sweden! “I wanted to help people and show them all that we care. I think it’s really important to look after each other,” said Jay.

Teo Palladina, age 5

Surrey based Tea Palladina raised over £2,300 for Unicef UK by running a marathon! After lockdown hit, the five year old missed his usual Sunday morning Park Run so decided to set up his own course in his back garden, running a kilometre every day for 42 days! Tea’s HomeRun for Children was set up to encourage other children to get involved too by running their own 1km, donating £3 and nominating three friends to do the same. The money raised by Tea has gone towards helping children around the world affected by the pandemic.

Luna Trenerry, age 3

Little Luna Trenerry, who has Down Syndrome, raised over £11,000 for Together 21, a support group in County Durham for children and young people with Down Syndrome, which helps them develop key life skills. The toddler took part in a series of ‘grown-up’ activities including driving lessons and working from home, culminating in her dressing up as a nurse to show her appreciation for the NHS that have been a big part of her life. Her mum shared Luna’s ‘lockdown diary’ on social media, bringing a smile to her followers and garnering hundreds of messages of support.

Imogen Davies, age 12

Twelve year old Imogen Davies wanted to help children worldwide who were feeling lonely, lost and confused so she penned and performed her very own song ‘Isolation Situation’ chronicling her own experience of lockdown. She said, “I wrote this song because during tough times many people listen to music and if I could write a song I would be able to write about what other people are feeling inside and help with all those locked up emotions.” Imogen’s video has racked up 2,000 views on YouTube and raised a fantastic £500 for the NHS. Listen to it HERE.

Skye Hale-Smith, age 11

After seeing a lot of families and good causes were struggling, 11 year old Skye Hale-Smith, from Banff, Canada started putting together ‘positivity’ care packages as well as worry and gratitude jars to help raise peoples spirits during these tough times. Skye, who was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, donated the proceeds from the packs to CLAPA (Cleft Lip and Palate Association) - a charity close to her heart which like many has suffered due to the pandemic.

Ailey McBride, age 7

Further afield, kindness crusader Ailey McBride from Broken Arrow in Oklahoma, decided to do something to bring people together after seeing news reports about global protests. “Everyone should be friends and they should all be nice to one another,’ she said. After telling her mum and grandma that she was going to have a rally of her own, she contacted the Mayor’s office to introduce herself. She duly got herself an appointment with the man himself leading local officials to get behind her cause, planning Ailey’s ‘Small and Mighty: A peaceful gathering for kids and families to spread kindness.’ After the city’s Main Street was closed, she led a march to the farmer’s market, holding banners aloft with the words ‘never too small to show kindness to all’. Families walked together and gathered to hear keynote speakers as well as creating their own kindness artwork.

Ryleigh Livengood, age 8

And it’s often the smallest and most personal acts of kindness which mean the most! After seeing a member of staff working hard to gather all of the supermarket trolleys at her local Walmart, eight year old Ryleigh Livengood, told her mum it wasn’t right to just leave carts out and asked if she could help. The young employee couldn’t believe his eyes and to show his appreciation he presented Ryleigh with a thank you card that included a $20 note next time she was at the supermarket. Ryleigh's mum said that her daughter, hadn’t expected it and was just trying to be nice." CJ added, "The fact that she didn't see race or anything. It was great. It was a great feeling. Such a small little girl with a big heart." 

Soumya Dalimya, Presha Bhatta and Ditya Thapar

Three teenage friends from Maharashtra in India - Soumya Soumya Dalimya, age 17, Presha Bhatta, age 15, and Ditya Thapar, age 13, used their creative skills during lockdown to produce an incredible 44 paintings. The sale of their artworks raised Rs84,000 which they donated towards a variety of causes including those at the forefront of Covid-19 crisis, children suffering from mental-illness and an orphanage.