Noah Playforth has proved an inspiration to his local community in Maltby, South Yorkshire, after raising an amazing £38,000 for a children’s hospice by running a mile a day
Noah Playforth completes last mile as he raises £33K for charity
A schoolboy with a ‘little idea’ to raise some cash for poorly children by running a mile a day has finished by raising a “mindblowing” £38,000 for a children’s hospice.
Noah Playforth, whose kindness has sent the seven-year-old viral on TikTok, is now promising: ‘It’s not going to stop here!’ He finished his charity mission on Monday, December 1, by pushing his new pal Logan Shakespeare over the finish line in his wheelchair.
He met Logan, who suffers from Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS), a rare inherited disease that affects the brain, immune system and the skin, after starting his bid to raise money for Bluebell Wood children’s hospice.
“It’s not going to stop here. I’m going to try and keep making a difference for little kiddies like Logan,” he promised after his final mile.
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Noah – described as being “like a therapy dog” by his family – was cheered on every day by locals and his nanna, Karen Wright, who even stood waiting to high five him during Storm Claudia.
His community in Maltby, South Yorkshire, came out to join him again on his final run on Tuesday.
“It’s been amazing. It started out as just a little idea to lots of people showing up,” he said of his November mission.
In tears, his mum Ashleigh told The Mirror: “It’s mindblowing. I woke up this morning and was just a ball of emotion. I’m unbelievably proud of Noah and the community who turned out for us.
“Not only has our little seven-year-old boy raised this unbelievable amount of money, he’s brought the community together and brought light into the world when there is a lot of darkness.
“And the bond he now has with Logan is incredible. Thirty days ago he didn’t even know him and their bond is so special.
“When we walked into his school this morning all I could see was purple, the teachers, the children, they are doing that to support Bluebell Wood but they are also doing that for our little boy and he’s been selfless since the beginning of this journey.
“He’s brought so many people together and there’s been very few nights when we’ve run on our one, we’ve had people beeping horns, people asking Noah for a picture, he’s a really shy sensitive little boy previous to this and I’ve watched him blossom. “
The mum said Noah was recently asked ‘what next?’ and said ‘it’s not going to stop here’
The final mile was an emotional event with many breaking down in tears, including Logan’s mum, Sophie Walker, who said: “I can’t thank Noah enough, the support that we’ve had, from the community from Bluebell Wood itself, his mum, you don’t know what it will mean to families. “
Hannah Goulding from Bluebell Hospice said: “It’s absolutely incredible what Noah’s achieved and such a challenge, especially for a seven year old.
“To have raised the amount of money is amazing. We rely so much on donations, we can’t do what we do without the support of the local community and the whole of Malty got behind Noah.
“First started out with gifts from their engineering company annual xmas bash and overhead them and it’s “grown and grown and grown it’s mindblowing.”
“He is so sweet and so caring, I’ve met him a couple of times, he’s a proper sweetheart.”
