Lexie loves helping others

Lexie Delaney from Edenderry is one little girl who won't have to worry about whether she's on Santa's naughty list this Christmas.

The eight year old, who is in second class in Scoil Bhride, has been dubbed Ireland's youngest charity volunteer for her fundraising efforts for the Dublin based charity Inner City Helping Homeless.

Over the past year, Lexie has raised hundreds of euro for the charity with which she has bought toiletries, sleeping bags, food and fleece jackets for Dublin's growing homeless population.

Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week, Lexie's mother Lillian said that her daughter first became aware of Dublin's homelessness problem last year. When she came into a little windfall she knew where she wanted the money to go.

'Her nanny does the Lotto for her and when she won money, she said that she wanted to do something for the homeless. We bought loads of toiletries. That got the ball rolling and then she said that she wanted to do her own little thing. We usually do a clear out of her toys and she had the brainwave to sell them. A week later we went to Clara market and sold more stuff.'

In addition to the hundreds of euros that Lexie has raised, her family and friends have given her goods which she passes on to Inner City Helping Homeless.

Yesterday, Lillian and Lexie travelled to Dublin to help Inner City Helping Homeless hand out shoeboxes to people in the city centre.
Lillian says that she's happy for Lexie's charity work to be highlighted so that other youngsters might follow her example.

'We are very proud of her. She's so thoughtful. She says things like 'Why do people have to be homeless?' and 'If I won the Lotto I'd buy a hotel and put all the homeless in it and give them free food', kids shouldn't have to worry about things like that,' Lillian said.

'If her story inspires another child to do what she does, it would be great.'