AN 11-year-old Fermanagh lad with a heart of gold has certainly went the extra mile for those who need it most, after he raised £800 for homeless charity RUTH (Raising Up The Hurting).
Matthew Jacks from Brookeborough always wanted to raise money for the homeless, according to his mum Ruth.
“Matthew first heard about the homeless a number of years ago when someone came and spoke at our church,” Ruth explained.
“Since then, every night when he’s saying his prayers, Matthew would always wonder about the homeless and pray for them. He always said how he would love for them to have more money and a nice warm dinner.”
After taking his desires to fundraise for the homeless into his own hands, Matthew decided to organise a car boot sale in Kilskeery.
“With the help of his teachers they put flyers up around shops and Matthew also spoke at church one morning and told everyone what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it,” says his mum.
“Matthew was over the moon and just flabbergasted at the generosity of people who donated items. After the car boot sale we got to meet organisers from the charity who had a lovely chat with Matthew after he presented the cheque.
“Matthew wants to thank everyone who helped him to make this happen, including family, friends, the local community, everyone at Brookeborough Controlled Primary School and especially Fivemiletown College who collected over 30 coats for the homeless.
Director of the RUTH charity, Joanne Smiton told the Herald, “We have been so touched by the compassion and efforts of Matthew Jacks from Brookeborough.
“We at RUTH are grateful that our Charity was chosen by Matthew, and his mum Ruth, for a fundraising car boot sale.
“Together, with the help of the local community who got behind Matthew, a staggering £800 was raised and many coats etc were collected and given to us.”
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