Amiah Jewel Peters-Hokee and Olivia Czygier are our latest ‘Edmonton Youth Heroes’

Two eleven-year-old girls from an Edmonton primary school raised money to buy more than 30 books for their classmates who couldn’t afford them.

Amiah Jewel Peters-Hokee and Olivia Czygier from Churchfield Primary School were preparing for this year’s SATs exams when they became worried that some of the children didn’t have access to the revision guides to help them study

Determined to ensure that no-one missed out, the girls spent hours baking cakes, brownies and cupcakes which they sold in a bake sale, raising £120 for the books.

Olivia explains: “Our SATs were coming up and the revision guides are really useful for studying. But because of the cost-of-living crisis, some families didn’t have the money to buy them and we didn’t think it was fair that they were missing out.

“We put together a presentation for our teachers, explaining why we wanted to raise the money and how we were going to do it, and then we organised bake sales and encouraged all of our classmates to get involved.”

It’s not the first time that the girls have organised their own campaign. Last year, Amiah led a fundraising drive to improve the school’s outdoor space, rallying her friends to help organise events which made £300 to pay for paint and new equipment. The space has now been transformed into a colourful and vibrant spot for pupils to hang out.

Natalie Lorkins, headteacher at Churchfield Primary School, explains: “We’ve been so impressed with the commitment that Amiah and Olivia have shown. Both of these campaigns came from the girls without any prompting and they worked really hard to prepare a detailed plan, which they presented brilliantly to our senior leadership team.

“The girls saw these ideas through from start to finish, organising events and raising money so that other children could benefit and we’re extremely proud of them.”

Dispatch readers are welcome to nominate their own ‘Edmonton Youth Hero’ – an inspirational young person (16 or under) from Edmonton who has made a valuable contribution to their local community. Simply email your nomination to [email protected]

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