By Chris Cornford
A kind-hearted teenager is delivering Easter treats to care home residents and to the elderly in her local community.
Macie Edkins-Wherry, 14, from Newport is no stranger to helping good causes. She is currently fundraising with mum, Dana, to raise money for a variety of Island charities while she was also busy with good causes during the first two lockdowns.
Dana explained: “Originally, Macie’s school was looking to raise £3,000 for a mental health and wellbeing room, because the students are affected by everything which is happening at the moment. So Macie organized a big raffle and garage sale to raise £2,000. Then in November, she contacted local care homes and distributed more than 100 Christmas presents and cards to people who were on their own with no other family over the holiday period.
“Now she has gone even further. She has decided to deliver 175 Easter treats to all elderly residents in the care homes, not just the ones with no family, as well as the elderly in the community linked to Pan Together or a carer.
“And she is also going to give a further 100 treats to the elderly in hospital. She wants to cheer them all up and let them know people are still thinking of them.
“Macie approached Morrisons, in Newport, who have provided her with lots of eggs and the rest of the money comes from what she earns from her paper round.”
Fears of catching the Coronavirus led to Dana, who has a genetic heart condition, temporarily leaving her husband Paul and four children at the beginning of the year and move in with her own mother.
Dana added: “The rest of the family are key workers in the hospital or in supermarkets, so I can’t afford to catch it.”
Despite this, the dynamic duo have joined forces in yet another charity project. She continued: “I’ve struggled this time around with my mental wellbeing and lost all motivation. So, I turned to eating chocolate, sweets and crisps because they were like a crutch for me.
“So for the last month I have given up all snacks and taken up daily yoga, with Adriane on Youtube, while Macie has been walking or jogging 5km a day.”
The couple have raised more than £1,500 from a bumper raffle which was drawn this week.
Money raised will be divided between the IW NHS Trust for the heart failure nurses towards a new echo machine, Carers IW, the Island’s Help Through Crisis team and No Limits/Space4u.
Press Release