A six-year-old girl from Edwalton has set herself a month-long running challenge to raise money for a local community food project, after deciding she wanted to support a charity before Christmas.
Effie chose Edwalton Food Hub CIC as the cause she wanted to help, after learning about its work supporting people facing food insecurity and reducing food waste. With no previous running experience, she decided to run one kilometre every day throughout January.
Her family initially agreed to begin the challenge before launching any fundraising, to see whether she could maintain the routine. Despite cold weather, rain and icy pavements, Effie has continued to complete her daily run, sometimes walking part of the distance when conditions made running difficult.
A fundraising page was set up on 12 January with an initial target of £150. After the appeal was shared on social media and local messaging groups, it received a level of support the family had not expected. Donations have come not only from friends and relatives but also from people in the local community who did not previously know Effie, many of whom said they were moved by the challenge and wanted to support the food hub’s work.
Effie’s progress has been recorded through photos and activity tracking, and she has completed runs with family members, neighbours and school friends. Her favourite part of the challenge has been running in the rain while wearing wellies so she can jump in puddles.
Edwalton Food Hub has been made aware of the initiative and shared the fundraising appeal on its social media channels. The organisation has welcomed the support and highlighted the difference the sponsorship could make to its work in the local community.
Effie continues to complete her daily runs as January progresses, with further fundraising ongoing.
At the time of publishing the fundraising target of £150 has been completely surpassed and stands at £845!
