Kids helping kids

A group of pre-teen girls jumped up and down with excitement and cheered after they poured the $100 they raised for Ronald McDonald House Charities into a donation container at the McDonald's restaurant on Regent Street May 3.

With no prompting from adults, Trayle Mathias, Brooke Adams, Lucy Dong, Kyla Sky Parsons, Jessica Ouimet and Sophie Gaffney, who all go to the Jublilee Heritage Daycare Centre, cooked up the idea to donate to the charity.

The girls, who also all attend McLeod Public School, raised the money by holding a bake sale at their daycare and selling crafts they'd made to friends and family. They also have a fun fair fundraiser planned for June.

Ronald McDonald House Charities provide a “home away from home” for the families of seriously ill children who are staying at nearby hospitals. In Ontario, there are facilities in Toronto, Ottawa, London and Hamilton.

“We thought it was good to raise money for kids our age,” Trayle, who attends Grade 5 at McLeod, said. “We kind of can understand what they're going through.”

She said the group of friends were quite excited to make the donation.

“We've been thinking about it all week,” she said.

Trayle's mother, Darlene Mathias, said she's proud of the children for wanting to help others.

“Usually, they would want to raise money and go spend it, but they wanted to help little kids,” she said. “They decided this was the place to donate the money they raised."

Kyla Sky's mother, Ashleigh Tilker, said she's not shocked her daughter would want to do something like this.

“That's just the type of child she is,” she said. “It was amazing they did (this with their) own group, and it wasn't a school project. That's what was unique about it.”

For more information about Ronald McDonald House Charities, visit www.rmhccanada.com.

Posted by Arron Pickard