Marlborough’s 10-year-old egg salesman saving up for charities Eggs-ellent

A 10-year-old from Marlborough has been biking around his rural neighbourhood every weekend, selling home-laid eggs from his school bag by the dozen.

Louis Guthrie hadn’t been keeping the pocket money either, instead saving up for two charities of his choice, and he’s now finally reached his targets.

He said he felt “pretty good” about raising $1000 each for Ronald McDonald House Wellington and Life Flight, which were both close to home for his whānau.

After getting off to a flying start in sales, Louis decided to double his fundraising goal for the first charity he thought of, before thinking of another worthy cause.

“Well, firstly, we were going to do $500 to Ronald McDonald, and then we were like, actually, why not, because that didn’t take very long at all,” Louis said.

“So we went through to $1000, and then that’s when we came up with the idea of Life Flight.”

Louis usually sold about seven dozen eggs a week on average, produced by 17 laying hens he looked after in his backyard.

“If we don’t have the dozen cartons, I could do 10 or 18, yeah … but we just still go to the same price when it’s like 18,” he said.

His mum Kate Guthrie said “word got out” about Louis’ produce soon after he began delivering.

“And the fact that he’s chosen these two charities is pretty cool, really,” she said.

Louis’ seven-year-old sister, Freda, had needed to use the services shortly after being born, and Guthrie said it was “nice” that he had picked donation destinations familiar to him.

“The Ronald McDonald House was just such an incredible place, and it was just amazing. They just took all the worry and stress out of anything,” Guthrie said.

“You just feel like you owe them so much … it’s a place that always sort of be in our hearts.”

The Guthrie whānau flew to Wellington last weekend so that Louis could deliver the money to his charities of choice in person.

Marlborough-based airline Sounds Air covered the cost of Louis’ ticket across the Cook Strait too, after hearing about his fund raising effort.

“So it’s quite a nice thing ... it’s quite nice that they want to be involved in it,” Guthrie said.

The 10-year-old was “not quite sure at the moment,” what basket he would place his eggs in next; whether he would choose another charity, or start saving some of his turnover.

But one thing was for sure - he’d be staying in the egg business for some time, and he reckoned “determination,” was the key to success.

“Not once does he ever complain about going to feed the chooks, or not once does he ever complain about going to deliver the eggs,” Guthrie said.

MATT HAMPSON/STUFF Louis has been selling about seven dozen eggs every week on average. His backyard is home to 17 hens he looks after, who he calls “his girls”.