Jimmy’s charity efforts continue to go from strength to strength!

Jimmy Stanley, a Year Four pupil at Laceyfield in Louth, hit the local headlines last November when he decidedto run five kilometres in exchange for food donations, which he then passed on to his school’s food bank, which had recently been developed in partnership with the Community Larder based at the Trinity Centre.

Since last year, Jimmy’s fundraising has gone from strength to strength, with a wide range of innovative ideas to collect donations of food and cash for good causes.

Jimmy’s mum Sarah, who said her son had been inspired by kind-hearted role models such as footballer Marcus Rashford, explained that Jimmy has additional needs and had been shocked and upset to learn that some of his classmates’ families relied on food banks, when his school set theirs up last autumn.

Following the closure of schools earlier this year due to the third national lockdown, Jimmy decided to make and sell his own keyrings in exchange for tasty sweet treats, which he then put together into nine hampers for the teachers looking after the nine class ‘bubbles’ at his school, as his way of saying thank you for their hard work and for going ‘above and beyond’ during such a difficult time.

Jimmy has also taken part in a wide range of fundraising activities since then, such as his school’s ‘Run For Cake’ fundraising event for Cancer Research UK and Macmillan, particularly in memory of his late grandmother Sharon.

Jimmy purchased two scratchable name cards to add a bit of extra fun at this event, and raised lots of extra money for the two cancer charities.

Sadly, Jimmy had to miss out on his school’s ‘Run For Life’ efforts around the school field earlier this year due to contracting coronavirus, but chairman Simon West very kindly arranged for Jimmy to do his own ‘Run For Life’ one Sunday morning after Jimmy’s isolation period had ended, raising several hundred pounds for the cause.

More recently, Jimmy has been creating his own items – such as hats, shirts, and water bottles – under his own brand motto “Charitable Is The New Cool”.

All of these items can be viewed and ordered through Jimmy’s Facebook page, which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/671464030236975.

Jimmy’s family would like to thank ArmourPackaging and Wells Plant Hire for their support and donations which have enabled Jimmy to create these personalised items.

Lately, Jimmy has been putting together Christmas hampers for the benefit of his classmates’ families who may struggle for food during the festive season, and he has also organised an upcoming darts competition alongside his father, David, which will take place at Louth Town & Country Club on the evening of Friday, December 10.

The format is knockout darts, and anyone can take part for just £5. The event begins at 6.30pm, and the winner will receive half of the entry fees, while the other half will be divided between the Laceyfield Food Bank and Louth Run For Life. You can simply turn up on the evening, or message via Jimmy’s fundraising Facebook page for further information.

Sarah concluded: “Jimmy has done all this stuff for good causes – even just in the last month alone – and it’s a bit overwhelming to be honest!”

Visit Jimmy’s Facebook group for more updates as they happen.