2018 Winner
Tristan Price
Tristan is just ten years old but he has already raised more than £600 to help Birmingham’s homeless community.
After visiting Birmingham to enjoy a show at the theatre the youngster from Sedgley was moved by the number of rough sleepers on the streets, and he vowed to help them. With help from his mum, Lucy Morris, he set up a Just Giving fundraising page and amassed £500, which was matched by store chain Poundland. The firm invited Tristan to fill up goodie bags at their stores with food and snacks such as chocolate and other treats. He then took to the streets with his mum and other helpers, including nine-year-old pal Libby Fowkes.
Mum Lucy told us “Tristan has always been such a kind-hearted boy. There is a homeless man who is always by the theatre in Dudley and, when we go there, Tristan likes to take him something to eat.” She added “It was the first time he had been to the theatre at night in Birmingham and Tristan made a comment as he walked there about how many homeless people he had seen. A couple of days later he handed me a letter in which he said he would like to go back to Birmingham at Christmas and hand out bags to the homeless. He said he would go into Poundland and buy as many goodies as he could get.”
Tristan said “It made me upset. I saw some people giving out food and I thought they were good people. I thought ‘I’d like to do that’. Homeless people look really happy when they get food. I decided to make Christmas bags and take them to Birmingham.”
Mark Eccleshare, 36, was among those who received a bag from Tristan. “What he is doing is brilliant,” he said. “I have been on the streets for the last 12 months. What we need is blankets and he has brought them. He is the salt of the earth. These guys will love him forever for this.”
Another grateful homeless man told Tristan he had “a heart of gold” as the youngster handed him a goodie bag
“I got lots of gloves and hats, food and drink to help them survive.” Mum Lucy, adds: “We are so proud of what he has done. He is a very caring and kind-hearted boy, and it was great to see the smile on his face as he dished out the goodie bags. It gave him so much joy to see that he was helping homeless people in need on the streets.”
Wouldn’t it be an incredible world if everyone was as kind as Tristan? He is the hugely deserving winner of our Young Fundraiser of the Year Award.