ON THE COVER A Little Girl With A Heart Of Gold
Elle wanted to share her birthday cake with some special people. Every week since, she’s continued to help the homeless, as proud mum Lisa Holdaway explains…
Walking through our home town of Southampton a few days before Elle turned seven, she caught sight of a crumpled up sleeping bag on the side of the street.
“What’s that?” she asked, concern etched on her face. My husband, Chris, explained, “That’s a man who hasn’t got anywhere to live.”
I could almost see her heart break as she processed this information. She had no idea some people had no homes.
“How can that be?” she asked, incredulous. “How can he have no home? Mummy, can we give him money?”
I knelt down to Elle’s height and squeezed her tight.
“We can’t give him money,” I said hesitantly. “But we can give him some tea.”
Elle’s face lit up. We went into a cafe, bought a sandwich and some tea, then gave it to the man. He was so thankful and lovely with Elle as they got stuck into a good chat.
I was proud of Elle for her good deed, but I was about to find out that she was far from done. What she had learned about the unfortunate circumstances some people end up in stayed on her mind.
Later, she said, “Mummy, can we make sandwiches and tea and take it out on the weekend for my new friend and other people with nowhere to live?”
I was so touched by her thoughtfulness, I said absolutely yes. We found out that a food truck donates free food across the city during the week but it doesn’t run on a Sunday, so we decided that Sunday would be the day for us.
That weekend, we prepared sandwiches, tea and lots of bananas, then headed into town with Elle’s little brother, James. Elle was the driving force, marching up to homeless people with me beside her, offering them snacks and striking up a conversation.
For Elle’s birthday a few days later I bought her a huge cake. There was lots left over and Elle said, “We need to give some cake to the people on the street.” She didn’t want a second slice for herself – she just wanted to share it with those less fortunate.
So we cut her cake into pieces and took it to town.
Every Sunday since, we’ve gone out with enough sandwiches, fruit and drinks to give to around 40 homeless people. Elle’s dream is for one child from every school
around the world to do what she does. We’ve set up an Instagram page, Elle’s Angels Little Star, so people can contribute and help her project grow. We’re limited by the amount of food we can afford to spare, but with donations we can do more.
I don’t want to encourage children to raid the fridge and head off into town approaching strangers, but I think Elle’s idea has great potential as long as kids are always accompanied by a responsible adult and have their parents’ permission to hand out donations.
Elle doesn’t walk past anyone. She doesn’t see a homeless person as emaciated or wearing filthy clothes. She doesn’t see them as someone to swerve past and ignore. She sees another human being down on their luck. A human being who needs some food, a chat and some kindness.
“Hi, are you hungry? Would you like some food?” she says. She gives them a smile and she gives them time. She’s taught me a lot.
I have to admit that before this all started in January, I was the kind of person who’d have walked on by. Elle taught me to stop. She taught me that the homeless community need help. We know they need more help than we can ever give them, but we can at least let them know we’re thinking of them.
Feeling less invisible can only be a good thing. The conversations we’ve had have been incredible – some have been funny, some hopeful, and some have reduced me to tears.
Elle may only be seven, but she is so compassionate that she’d feed the entire country if she could. I just wish the contents of our fridge could stretch that far.
Recently, we’d finished donating sandwiches and were heading back to the car when Elle spotted a man slumped against the parking meter. Elle burst into tears when I broke it to her that we’d run out of food.
“We can’t help everyone ourselves – I’m so sorry,” I said to her.
Undeterred, she rummaged in the back of the car until she found a bottle of water she could give him. It feels magical to be near her. I’m just so proud I could burst.
One of the women we’ve met on the streets lost touch with her children when her life unravelled and when Elle gives her a hug, her face lights up. We’ve met people who are quite obviously suffering with addiction, sickness and ill health, but when Elle is kind and polite to them, they are kind and polite right back.
“The world would be a happier place if everyone had full tummies,” Elle says.
It’s certainly a very good place to start.
It feels magical to be near her. She gives people a smile and she gives them time