Five-year-old girl raises hundreds for NHS and food bank with rainbow decorations stall
A five-year-old girl has raised hundreds of pounds for the NHS and a Cardiff food bank by selling homemade rainbow decorations from a garden stall.
Eva Hall, from Marshfield, Cardiff, has sold more than 150 rainbow decorations from her stall and online, raising more than £400.
Her mother said many people have since asked if they can replicate the idea to fundraise in their own communities.
Eva joins an army of entrepreneurial children across Wales who have been raising money for charities during the pandemic.
The decorations began selling out within an hour of setting up the stall after initially only making 10 for the neighbours.
Bonnie Hall, Eva's mother, said her five-year-old was inspired by American TV programmes that showed traditional lemonade stands outside homes.
"We had some wooden decorations and stones so she started to create rainbows on those so that people could hang them in their windows who may not have children in the house to make their own.
"She thought having a shop outside would mean anyone who was lonely could walk past and have someone to talk to in the front garden that day."
The coronavirus crisis has sparked a huge increase in people using food banks for essential supplies, according to charities.
The Trussell Trust said its network had seen its busiest-ever period, with 81 per cent more emergency food parcels being given out in the last two weeks of March.
Ms Hall said: "Eva is always concerned about those around her not having the things that she is privileged to have like food, so she wanted to do something to help those in the food banks working really hard."
She was also inspired to raise money for the NHS as the family have a number of close friends working in healthcare.
Customers have used their daily exercise to walk to the stall, with some making 'click and collect' orders. Eva has even received online orders from America.
Rainbows have become a symbol of hope during the pandemic, with children displaying paintings in windows to show support for the NHS.
"She's very happy that everyone is working together, and that children are not too small to help or love their communities."