Little boy with big heart raises more than £1,000 for church with sponsored walk
It was a case of divine intervention when a youngster raised funds for a Hadnall church hit by a break-in.
Little Carter McGarry, aged four, proved a little angel when he heard of the theft of audio equipment and wall speakers worth £700 at St Mary Magdalene church, and took it upon himself to try and raise the money himself.
He decided to do a series of sponsored walks and by the time he had collected all the money from four walks of four kilometres in four days he had raised £1,155, well in excess of the bill for the equipment.
Which was just as well, as the church in Shrewsbury Road also needs money for boiler repairs and the extra cash will go towards it.
Carter was in the room when his parents were discussing arrangements for the christening of his sister Pippa at the church and the conversation turned to the theft of the equipment.
His mother Fiona said he couldn't get the idea of raising funds for the church out of his head.
She said: "He kept mentioning about the audio equipment and how much it would cost the church to replace it and we came up with the idea of him doing a sponsored walk but had no idea how much it would raise.
"The response from friends and family was amazing, they really dug deep and the conditions for the walk weren't ideal as it was carried out on the Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday during the flooding so it was hard work for a little lad.
"Most of it was done around Hadnall Village but we did go into Shrewsbury as well - Carter likes his walks so it was great he could combine that with raising money for a good cause.
"We are very proud of him for taking the walk on and having the idea to help others in the first place."
Reverend Paul Cawthorne from St Mary Magdalene said he was delighted with Carter's intervention as the church had suffered from having to close for Covid, the theft of the equipment and now the boiler repairs.
"Covid meant we missed out on much needed income from weddings and christenings and the like. The audio equipment was taken before Christmas, the speakers ripped off the walls and the amplifiers taken, and now we have the problem with the boiler, which is a problem a lot of churches face from time to time, but everything seemed to come at once and Carter's fundraising has proved a godsend.
The youngster is in reception class at Hadnall Primary School and is a keen walker.
