Worksop: Man quits his job to help needy

Johnny Manning, 21, of Watson Road, left his job at Marks & Spencer and has now turned his hand to washing pots, making tea and gardening - for free.

The dedicated youngster, who lives with his sister, still holds a part-time position at a sandwich shop.

But for the past month he has focused his attention on making life easier for the needy.

“I simply want to give something back to the community,” he said.

“Times are tough and people are struggling financially.”

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me to help people, meet new people, to help charities and to make life that little easier for everyone around.”

Between the 15th and 30th June, Johnny helped 23 people and he has set his ambitions sights on assisting more people each month.

He told the Guardian: “The people I help are the elderly and single parents but I hope to help more people.”

“I spend about one hour a day with each person whether that is providing some company, dog walking and cutting grass.”

Although Johnny offers his help without charge - he does receive donations - but he gives them straight to charity.

“At the moment it is all about building trust with people because there a lot of cold callers these days.”

“I try to give a donation to a different charity each time.”

As well as offering support to people, he has also set-up a football teams in Gateford and Kilton who play once a week.

He added: “It gives people who might have problems something to look forward to.”

“I have also tried to help the homeless by sometimes using the donations I receive to feed them or listen to their stories.”

“I use a Facebook page that I have set-up so people can leave comments asking for help.”

“It would be nice if more people will let them help me.”

Visit his page at www.facebook.com/pages/Free-service-and-support or call 07977050750 or 07786252400.