A group of East Belfast youngsters have created a new 'Kindness Hut' that is providing help to those in need in their community.
The Ledley Hall Youth Club Kindness Crew are a group of 15 children aged five to 11 who have come together in order to come up with new ways that they can show kindness and consideration to others and provide help to those who need it.
As part of their work in their local community they have developed a 'Kindness Hut' which they fill with groceries, clothes and school uniforms, which can be accessed by local families who need a bit of extra support.
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Prior to the creation of the Kindness Hut, the youngsters gathered donations of food, clothes and toys for a number of months which finished with their 'Kindness Day Giveaway' on October 27, which proved to be a huge success.
Members of the Kindness Crew told Belfast Live they have become aware of the rising costs of living and how it is impacting families in their area and they hoped that using the hut could help them whenever they need.
The ethos of the hut is that you 'take only what you need. If everyone shares there is enough to go around'.
The Kindness Hut has been created through grant funding from the Education Authority and support from AA Veterans Support, local artists Blaze FX, Bloomfield Sheds, Allied Bakeries, M&S, Sainsburies and Mash Direct.
Michelle Fullerton of Ledley Hall said: "We used to have a table at the front of the youth club where people from the community would be able to collect groceries and other items if they were ever in need.
"However in bad weather it would mean that everything got very wet and eventually our table was actually stolen from the youth club.
"The kids were disappointed by this and wanted to continue helping people and came up with the idea of creating a 'Kindness Hut' that would be able to protect all the items and keep them safe for others to pick up.
"They have really thrown their hearts and souls into it and even sat down together to apply for the grant funding from the EA themselves and come up with exactly how they wanted the hut to look and be designed.
"It works very simply, where we will put all of our excess donations that we receive into the hut and people are able to pick up anything they need, whether that is a loaf of bread and some juice or baby clothes and school uniforms."
"We have received a lot of help in order to put this together which we are very thankful for, with AA Veterans Support helping to build the shelves in the hut for us, Blaze FX painting it and the continued donations we get from Allied Bakeries, M&S, Sainsburies and Mash Direct."
The members of the Ledley Hall Kindness Crew are: Katy Dunn, Carson Wilson, Amelia Hill, Macie Hill, Brax Irwin, Button Blackett, Brock Blackett, Ebony Bowers, Keeley Bowers, Jersey Thompson, Reah Hill, Rhea Thompson, Skye Thompson, Emmi Rice, Ruby Kane and Aliya Black.
Youth Club members are able to join the crew after they are shown to have displayed kindness and caring to others, along with politeness and gratitude.
If you would like more information about the Kindness Hut or would like to make a donation please email michelle@ledleyhall.org.
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