When seven year old Charlie Simpson saw the grim images of post-earthquake Haiti on television he reacted as most children his age would: he broke down and cried. But instead of begging his mother to change the station, the young bicycling aficionado asked how he could help. To date the West London youth’s philanthropic push–a five-mile sponsored bicycle ride around a local park–has raised $204,459.186 for UNICEF and inspired people throughout the world to lend a hand with disaster relief in Haiti.
Charlie set out to raise £500 (around $800) for the Unicef Haiti Appeal by riding his bicycle 7 laps–about 5 miles–around a local park, asking for sponsors along the way. But some savvy adult (presumably his mother or father) set the young philanthropist up with an account at a website where donations can be collected online and once word about Charlie’s mission hit the internet, teary-eyed grown ups all over the world started opening up their pocketbooks.
From Charlie Simpson’s donation site:
“My name is Charlie Simpson. I want to do a sponsored bike ride for Haiti because there was a big earthquake and loads of people have lost their lives. I want to make some money to buy food, water and tents for everyone in Haiti.”
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