A real force for good
Star Wars icon praises teen’s foodbank efforts
Star Wars icon praises teen’s foodbank efforts
A Blantyre schoolboy raised more than £350 for his local foodbank and got special recognition from one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The force was strong with Adam Mcdonald who decided to help out his community’s most vulnerable, and his efforts caught the eye of Star Wars actor Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker in the sci-fi series.
And the film star showed his appreciation by tweeting “For Adam...” attaching a GIF of him as Luke Skywalker saying “The Force is strong with this one” before retweeting a post of Adam’s fundraising drive.
Calderside Academy pupil Adam, 15, says it was amazing to see his efforts noticed by one of his idols, while collecting vital supplies to locals in his area.
Adam told the Advertiser: “It was pretty cool seeing Mark Hamill tweet me, it meant a lot.
“I’m a big Star Wars fan and he’s good in a lot of other things too. It wasn’t so much surreal, but more awesome just having him know I exist.”
Adam headed to the shops with his family once donations started flooding in to his Go Fund Me page and they were able to purchase supplies weighing 187kg which were welcomed by Hamilton District Foodbank.
Adam received a special certificate of thank you from the Trussell Trust for his kindness.
Adam explained: “I was introduced to the foodbank when I was in primary three, so I’ve known about them for quite a long time.
“And because of quarantine, I knew there would be families out there struggling, so I decided to try and help them.
“I only started at the end of May but the support has been amazing and with a bit of luck the word has spread. The foodbank have been happy to see stuff coming in, which has made me really happy because I’ve been able to help them and help raise awareness too.
“And I’m happy to keep it up for a few months longer if need be.”
Proud mum Vicky said: “It was one of these things that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“I think Adam really struggled with lockdown at first and then decided to come up with something to raise awareness of the foodbank more than anything, then next thing we knew donation pages were going up online and he raised a bit of money too.
“I think in the current situation there are many people realising that they are in a fortunate position not worried about work or money.
“But they’re aware that there are people who might be losing a job or potentially not getting paid, and it’s made these issues a bit closer to home for people who maybe weren’t thinking about it before.”
On the topic of Mark Hamill reaching out, Vicky added: “It was really exciting and we were all very impressed by him getting in touch.”
Hamilton District Foodbank gave a lovely message of thanks to Adam, saying: “Well done Adam for raising awareness of the foodbank and raising an amazing £325. “Thank you Adam for you kindness.” Adam has now raised £355 for the foodbank and plans to keep his fundraising page open. You can donate at: www.gofundme.com/f/1waw4vfzxc