Darcie was inspired to clean up her local area and fundraise for Father Hudson’s after attending a Good Shepherd assembly by Kevin Hateley (our Head of Fundraising, Communications and Marketing) at her school. Father Hudson’s offers Catholic Primary Schools assemblies during Lent to share more details about our work. This year we focused on our theme of homelessness and our project Tabor Living in Birmingham.

After the assembly Darcie set herself a target of £500 for a sponsored litter pick of Coleshill, Shustoke, Over Whitacre and Nether Whitacre, Shawbury and surrounding areas. She has been out collecting rubbish from hedgerows and verges day and night and has cleared plastic bottles and cans, took bags of rubbish, and improved the local area in the process.

Darcie’s Dad, Scott said, ‘The inspiration for the litter pick was really after Kevin’s assembly and came from Darcie’s willingness to help others. Darcie is a lovely soul who really cares for others and is very inquisitive. She met and spoke to a lovely couple who always litter pick in our area and asked to work with them. Darcie decided to use this idea not only to improve our local area but also help such a good cause. She is also doing a table top sale on Saturday to raise more funds and has been given an award at school for her good work in the community. There are now others doing the same thing for different charities so she has inspired others to do the same…’

Over Easter weekend we are pleased to share she hit her target, and we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Darcie, her family and everyone who supported her JustGiving appeal. This shows how one person can make an enormous difference, no matter their age.

When we found out about Darcie and her mission, we were extremely impressed and invited her and her family into our Head Office to meet Kevin. Darcie also visited St Joseph’s Care Home, where she was a whizz on our Tiny Tablet and enjoyed meeting and chatting with our residents. We are incredibly proud of Darcie and all her hard work and wish her all the best for the future. What an inspiration!