A seven-year-old British boy told Sunday how he raised more than £50,000 (US$80,500) in a day for survivors of the Haiti earthquake by doing a sponsored bike ride.
Charlie Simpson set out to collect just £500 for a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appeal by cycling 8km around his local park in London — but his efforts inspired hundreds of people to donate online.
He started his fundraising efforts after seeing shocking images of children being pulled alive from the rubble in the Caribbean country.
“I just think it was quite sad when I saw the pictures on the TV,” the youngster said.
His mother, Leonora, helped him create a sponsorship form and said the document quickly spread around the Internet and the enormous sum was donated in one day.
“He really felt strongly about this and thought that something had to be done,” she said. “But what started off as a little cycle round the park with his dad has turned into something a lot bigger than that and we can’t believe it.”
“I am extremely proud of our Charlie, he’s done really well. He’s worked hard and he’s raised a phenomenal amount of money so we couldn’t ask for anything more,” she said.
Donations from his JustGiving Web site go to UNICEF, which is leading emergency relief efforts on water, sanitation, education and nutrition as well as supporting child protection. UNICEF said it was the first time anyone had collected £50,000 in one day for the fund and the money would make “a huge difference.”
“It’s always heartwarming when any child starts to respond and there’s something quite special about a child in the UK reaching out to the children of Haiti,” spokesman Michael Newsome said.
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which hit Haiti on Jan. 12, has killed tens of thousands of people and is the worst recorded disaster ever to hit the Americas.
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