8 year-old boy going walking to buy toys for local charity

Thursday 22 June 2017

Ahead of a weekend when hundreds of islanders will be walking for charity, the story of one little eight-year-old boy stands out.

Charlie Le Geyt will be the doing the Lieutenant Governor's challenge - walking 13 miles from Les Fontaines Tavern to Le Braye on Saturday in support of Milli's Child Contact Centre, where his mum has been volunteering for the past three years. He hopes to raise £400 for the local charity which enables children from separated families to spend time with their parents.

In spite of his young age, Charlie originally wanted to walk all 48 miles of the State Street Island Walk, but his parents convinced him that a shorter distance was more appropriate. His mum, Jo-Ann Le Geyt, explained: "I have been a volunteer at Milli's for three years and Charlie has come with me on Boxing Day when we had an event, and he has also helped out with boot-sales. He heard that another volunteer had raised £700 for the centre by doing the Island Walk and he wanted to do something as well but 48 miles was a bit too much for him!"

The Contact Centre was founded in 2000 and is part of the Jersey Centre for Separated Families. It is entirely funded through donations and is a safe place where children can spend time in the company of the parents they don't live with, as well as other relatives.

"Quite often things between parents have broken down to such extent that they can't even be in the same room. The resident parents drop the children off with one of the volunteers at the centre, who then take them to the non-resident parent. All the toys and books are taken out and the parents get to spend quality time with their children and create childhood memories. This way the children know they haven't been abandoned and that they are loved," Mrs Le Geyt commented.

Since Charlie signed up for the challenge in March, he has been training dutifully, with the support of his mum. She said: "We have been walking pretty much every weekend, from Bonne Nuit to Rozel, in St. Catherine's woods and on the northern coast. We have had a really lovely time, it was just two of us, without any telephone. Charlie has been talking from start to finish every time."

Pictured: Charlie has been training dutifully for the challenge with the help of his mum.

Charlie is aiming to raise £400 that will go to buying new toys and equipment for the centre. To reach his goal, he has been securing sponsorships from family members, friends and families. He also set up a crowdfunding page, with the help of his mum who posted regular updates on his training. As the page currently stands at £300, Mrs Le Geyt is confident that Charlie will be over his target when he sets off for his walk on Saturday. She explains: "He has been very keen to get sponsorhips. Everytime we tell him someone knew has given money he is over the moon!"

While his mum is understandably very proud of Charlie whom she says "...he wanted to help the children who are not as lucky as him."