It’s easy to forget children can be emotionally affected when they hear about the horrors going on in the world.
Six-year-old Joshua Ellis-McConville from Handbridge, Chester, was upset on learning about the Grenfell Tower fire disaster which has claimed scores of lives including young and old.
Joshua may not understand the true nature and scale of the tragedy but his instinct was to reach out with kindness.
That’s why he decided to do a sponsored bike ride to raise money for the victims.
What upset Joshua most was that children who lived in the flats had lost all of their toys and wouldn’t have had time to collect their things when they left the building.
His mum Stephanie Ellis explained: “He thought about how he could help, and he wanted to raise some money so that the children could buy some new toys and duvet covers for their new bedrooms."
Accompanied by his mum, Joshua, who attends Mill View Primary School in Upton, will this Sunday (June 25) cycle a 10km route from his Handbridge home to Chester Fire Station. There he hopes to meet firefighters if they are not responding to an emergency.
Stephanie continued: “Joshua has said he wants to say thank you to them for all the amazing work they do every day.”
She concluded: "I wanted to support Joshua as he was so concerned for the children from Grenfell Tower, I started to talk to him about how we might help and how raising money will help children be able to get the things that they need.
"I tried my best to get the balance right of being honest about what he'd heard on our morning radio, whilst protecting his six-year old heart from the horror of the events."
All proceeds raised by Joshua will be donated to the Dispossessed Fund set up by the London Evening Standard to help uninsured victims of the disaster.
Stephanie added: “This fire is such a terrible tragedy and this is a small way to show our love and solidarity with the families and to show that there is hope.”
Joshua told The Chronicle: “I want to raise money so the children can buy new toys and new school uniform.” Asked what most excited him about Sunday, he replied: “Doing the bike ride and taking treats to the firefighters.”
Donations can be made through Joshua’s JustGiving page by clicking here.
