Wellingborough boy raises more than £400 for Ukraine by walking 100 laps of field despite pain in legs

This is the first time the 11-year-old has done anything for charity and has already outdone his initial goal by 290 percent
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A Wellingborough boy has raised more than £435 for Ukraine by walking 100 laps of his local field at just 11 years old.

Freddie Johnston, who already helps his disabled mother and grandmother with chores at home, decided to start the fundraiser after he saw the suffering caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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Despite dealing with pain in his legs since the age of two, the schoolboy chose to walk 100 laps of a local field to raise money for the cause. With a lot of grit, commitment, and a little bit of Calpol, the little fundraiser has already smashed his original goal of £150, climbing to a stunning £450 in just ten days.

The 11-year-old said he was inspired by other sponsored walks he had seen beforeThe 11-year-old said he was inspired by other sponsored walks he had seen before
The 11-year-old said he was inspired by other sponsored walks he had seen before

Freddie said: "I just want to help the people in Ukraine.

"Quite a lot of people do sponsored walks when they want to help people so I thought it would be a good way to raise money.

"I'm actually quite surprised we've raised this much. It feels amazing knowing that I'm going to be able to help more people.

"It can cause some pain in my legs when I walk for quite a bit, but I'm determined to do this.

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"I want people to think about where they can help raise money and buy supplies for Ukraine, just because it's a good thing to do."

According to Freddie's mother, this is just another example of her son's caring nature. Besides helping out at home for his mum, Nikki, and his grandmother, who both suffer with chronic pain, Freddie is also known to be incredibly kind in other areas of his life as well.

Once raised, the funds will reportedly go into Freddie's mum's account, from which the pair will buy up supplies needed in Ukraine. These could include medical supplies, humanitarian aide and direct donations to the the likes of the British Red Cross and others with whatever money is left over.

Nikki said of her son: "I'm just really proud of him.

"He's sort of grown up for the past few years helping us and he does little bits around the house like washing up the dishes, hoovering, carrying heavy things upstairs for us and so on. Even in his school reports his teachers always say how kind he is to the other students, so I am really proud that he's carried that on here.

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"I'm really pleased it's gone over target. We decided to start with £150 as a goal because we were fairly confident we could meet that by sharing with family and friends. But after a few shares in a few groups it's gone a lot better than we expected.

"Obviously, he's even more pleased because we can buy more supplies and he can help even more people.

"If people had family members over there, how would they feel if someone had read this and thought 'this doesn't affect me, so I won't do my bit?' Even if people can't donate, as I understand not everybody can, then I'd like them to give us a share."

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