A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl devastated by the Ukraine crisis has decided to raise money for refugees.
Amelie Brown, from Fiveways, Brighton, knew she wanted to do something to help the children of Ukraine after watching coverage on CBBC’s Newsround.
She came downstairs on Sunday afternoon and announced to her parents that she wanted to complete a sponsored cycle around Brighton Velodrome.
The next day her father, Anthony, helped her set up a Just Giving page with all proceeds going to Unicef’s campaign.
Anthony, 42, said: “She’s a little star and it’s just the kind of girl she is, she’s very compassionate and caring and she couldn't bear to see what is happening over there.
“She saw the children being displaced and the families being torn apart.
“One of the girls in her class, her family is Ukrainian and her grandmother is still out there, that really brought it home for Amelie I think.”
Amelie has already raised over £1,500 and now other pupils at Balfour Primary School have opted to join her in her mission.
The children will be heading down to the velodrome on Thursday, March 3 with the aim of keeping going for as long as they can.
Some of her classmates who cannot make it on Thursday are going to be completing their own cycles, with all proceeds going to Unicef.
Anthony added: “I think what it does is provide a little bit of light in a time when we’re all anxious about what’s going on.
“It’s lovely to see what children can do when they have ideas and dreams, and to see what they can achieve.
“It’s a challenge for parents at the moment of how much you want to expose your kids to reality and to the world, we’ve been trying to strike a balance.
“We’ve been keeping her aware of what’s going on but obviously don’t want to scare her.
“I think, instinctively, she just felt that she wanted to do something to help.”
To donate to Amelie’s fundraiser visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anthony-brown100
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