Leeds sisters get crafty in coronavirus lockdown making bracelets for charity

Esmee Latto, 11, and Indie Jarvis, nine, discovered a talent for making bracelets and decided to start selling them to their local community and raise money for the NHS.

So far their bracelets have raised around £300 - all via pay-what-you-want donations in a jar at the end of their street, Alderhill Avenue in Meanwood, and an online fundraising webpage at https://www.gofundme.com/f/indie-and-essys-challenge.

Esmee, a pupil at Carr Manor Community School, said: "We just made ourselves the bracelets one day and Indie said as a joke that we should make them and put them out on the end of the street. We just started thinking of things we could do - like we needed to put a donations jar out that people could put a bit in if they wanted."

Indie, a pupil at Meanwood Church of England Primary School, said some of the bracelets are made of threads twisted together, with beads which spell out words such as "NHS, love and hope".

Esmee added: "I was hoping we would get £50 at first so when we went over that we were quite surprised. It felt good because we started to make some money for places that need it. We've had quite a few people who have left £5 and £10 notes."

The girls had a heartbreaking setback in the first few weeks when someone stole some of their bracelets and money from the jar.

But after their plight was publicised in a Facebook post, the local community rallied around them and began to pledge more donations - as well as dropping off other items they could sell.

Esmee said: "Someone brought lots of mini cactuses and wrote a note to say 'thank you' and that we could sell them for charity too. We don't know who it was. The note just said they were from 'Ian around the corner'."

The girls' creations are also in such demand they are getting personal requests for bracelets now.

Mum Sarah Murdoch said she was very proud of their hard work - as well as how they dealt with the initial theft.

"They were a bit upset and disheartened since they doing something really nice. But they just cracked on. They love it, it's something that they can do while in lockdown and they've been so happy with everyone locally who have helped them with it, making individual bracelets for them. It's been really nice to keep them occupied. They just wanted to give a little bit back [to key workers]. I'm really proud," she said.

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