A YOUNG girl is going the extra mile for brave soldiers like her dad.
Amber Gerrard has set herself a target of raising £10,000 for Help for Heroes, a charity that helps Armed Forces personnel who are injured in the line of duty.
Amber, aged seven, has so far raised hundreds of pounds with a series of bingo nights.
She’s also planning to have a sponsored day in a wheelchair to ram home the message that wounded military personnel need our help.
Proud mum Michelle Gerrard, of High Street, Weaverham, says there’s no stopping Amber, a pupil at Forest Street Primary School.
“She just decided that she wanted to do something to raise money for the Armed Services charity – and that was it.
“We’ve received fantastic support from the local shops and businesses. We’ve been inundated with prizes for the bingo nights and we’ve had a lot of donations too,” said Michelle.
Amber’s dad Paul McKenna, 28, is equally proud of her battling qualities.
“She’s a chip off the old block,” said Paul, a driver with the Royal Logistics Corps currently based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
Paul travels home every weekend, job-permitting, to see Amber, his pregnant partner Michelle and their fiveyear-old son Ewan.
Amber’s fast closing in on her first £1,000 towards her ambitious five-figure target.
She plans to run the bingo nights on the first Friday of every month – and hold further fundraisers – until she achieves her goal.
The next prize bingo night is at Owley Wood Club on May 1 at 7.30pm.
