10-year-old Storrington boy on track to walk 100 miles in March to help others

Ten-year-old Felix Hursthouse is raising money for the British Red Cross after learning about the hardships faced by refugees from Syria and Somalia during a school project.

“He has been so determined and hasn’t complained once, even in awful weather,” said his mum Naomi, who has accompanied her nature-loving son on many of his walks.

“We wanted to support the Red Cross because it helps people here in the UK, as well as around the world. And we saw they were talking about mental health during the pandemic, which has been an important issue for all of us.”

Felix is an only child and, like many children, has struggled over the past year with his wellbeing. With no siblings at home and restrictions preventing him from meeting friends, he found the first lockdown challenging. But walking has been a huge help.

The family started walking every day on and around the South Downs near their home during the first lockdown and when schools closed in January, they started again.

“We realised that we’d done 85 miles in February,” said Naomi. “Felix was pretty proud of that, so he wanted to set a target of 100 miles for March, and we thought we would raise some money for charity at the same time.

“Felix is really benefitting from this. It’s great for his health and he’s getting a real sense of achievement from it. And to be honest, it’s been good for my wellbeing too.”

For the fundraiser, Felix is walking almost every day after school for an hour at a time, covering at least three miles a day.

Felix’s inspiration to support the British Red Cross came after learning about asylum seekers and refugees, and the huge numbers of people who have to leave their homes every day because of war and persecution.

He said: “I’m really happy to do it every day because I feel it is important to help people in need.

“Completing this challenge has made me realise how lucky I am to have so much. I am happy to be able to raise money for a good cause.”

And Naomi says the response so far has been amazing – after two weeks, Felix had already covered 65 miles and raised over £560.

She said: “We are really proud of him. He was nervous at first but he has been so committed. He is now trying to beat his target.”

Felix is just over a week away from completing his fundraiser, and when he’s not walking he enjoys reading, biking, watching movies and building with Lego.

To support Felix and the British Red Cross, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/naomi-hursthouse

The British Red Cross helps people in crisis across the UK as well as bringing disaster relief around the world.

In Sussex, the charity works with hospitals to help people return home after illness or injury and stays in regular contact until they can manage for themselves.

Its volunteers and staff also teach first aid skills, lend out mobility aids, such as wheelchair and bring support to people facing house fires, floods or evacuations, and to vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers.

Since the start of the pandemic last March the British Red Cross has reached more than 1.5 million people in the UK with extra wide-ranging crisis support, including food or medicine deliveries, a Coronavirus telephone support line and a Hardship Fund.

If you’re struggling to cope during the pandemic and need to talk, you can call the British Red Cross free support line between 10am and 6pm every day on 0808 196 3651.

For more about the charity, visit www.redcross.org.uk