Seven-year-old girl from Horsforth spearheading fundraising effort for children in Ukraine

A seven-year-old girl from Horsforth has launched a campaign to raise funds for children affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
By Tom Coates
Published 24th May 2022, 04:45 BST
Updated 24th May 2022, 08:36 BST
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Elsie Ormiston holds an interest in current affairs and was spurred into action after realising what was unfolding as a result of Russia's invasion.

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She has rallied classmates at St Margaret's C of E Primary School and they are in the process of covering the equivalent of the 1,370-mile distance between Horsforth and the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv by various means such as running and cycling.

Picture James Hardisty....Elsie Ormiston, a pupil at St Margaret's Primary School, Horsforth, Leeds, has helped to organised a fundraising campaign for Ukraine - Along with her classmate they will be covering the distance from Leeds to Kyiv by various means running, cycling, Walking, and Scootering.Picture James Hardisty....Elsie Ormiston, a pupil at St Margaret's Primary School, Horsforth, Leeds, has helped to organised a fundraising campaign for Ukraine - Along with her classmate they will be covering the distance from Leeds to Kyiv by various means running, cycling, Walking, and Scootering.
Picture James Hardisty....Elsie Ormiston, a pupil at St Margaret's Primary School, Horsforth, Leeds, has helped to organised a fundraising campaign for Ukraine - Along with her classmate they will be covering the distance from Leeds to Kyiv by various means running, cycling, Walking, and Scootering.
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They have recently breached the 500-mile mark and have already raised £850 via their JustGiving page.

Elsie's dad Mike said: "She just said 'I want to do something to raise money for for Ukraine'.

"We came up with a bike ride initially and then, by the end of the weekend, Elsie and her mum Sally had got involved and worked out the distance between her school in Horsforth and Kyiv.

"They basically stuck it on their class WhatsApp group and then over the course of the next three or four days, give or take two-thirds of the class got involved.

Picture James Hardisty....Elsie Ormiston, a pupil at St Margaret's Primary School, Horsforth, Leeds, has helped to organised a fundraising campaign for Ukraine - Along with her classmate they will be covering the distance from Leeds to Kyiv by various means running, cycling, Walking, and Scootering. Pictured (left to right) Grace Burke, Elsie Ormiston, Madie Jones, and Jenson Stewart.Picture James Hardisty....Elsie Ormiston, a pupil at St Margaret's Primary School, Horsforth, Leeds, has helped to organised a fundraising campaign for Ukraine - Along with her classmate they will be covering the distance from Leeds to Kyiv by various means running, cycling, Walking, and Scootering. Pictured (left to right) Grace Burke, Elsie Ormiston, Madie Jones, and Jenson Stewart.
Picture James Hardisty....Elsie Ormiston, a pupil at St Margaret's Primary School, Horsforth, Leeds, has helped to organised a fundraising campaign for Ukraine - Along with her classmate they will be covering the distance from Leeds to Kyiv by various means running, cycling, Walking, and Scootering. Pictured (left to right) Grace Burke, Elsie Ormiston, Madie Jones, and Jenson Stewart.
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"Then it went from a bike ride to scootering, walking to running. It was like 'well, let's see what we can do!'. We've been having a running tally ever since and people report in their miles, and we've got a bit of a map which tracks the distance, which we update."

It has not yet been decided which charities will benefit from the efforts of Elsie and her classmates but all proceeds will be either sent directly to Ukraine or to families housing those that have fled the country.

Also in news: Leeds men from Morley on their way back from Ukraine aid drop-off say 'it was a long way, but it was all worth it'

Mike said: "We're about 40% of the way there at the moment, it obviously differs quite a bit - if you walk 5k, that doesn't take a lot off it! You've got to get quite a lot of kids to do quite a lot of stuff.

"To be honest, it is heart-warming given the amount of bad stuff kicking around the world at the moment."

Donations can be made to the campaign here.

Related topics:UkraineHorsforthRussia

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