Seven-year-old Gosport girl sells her toys to raise funds for the homeless

Seven-year old Rayah Holland, from Gosport, has provided essential items and raised £100 for a homeless charity after she noticed people living rough in her home town, as temperatures in Portsmouth and surrounding areas are predicted to drop to -1C.

Rayah first expressed an interest in helping those less fortunate than her during a conversation with her mum, Sian Holland, during the October half-term break about how she wanted to sell her toys to help the homeless.

The cash raised from the toys would be used to buy food and other essential items, such as gloves, snoods and blankets, for people living on the streets.

Sian said: ‘We've been out and about and she'd seen a couple of people on the street and asked me why they were there. So I said sometimes for different reasons, people don't have a home.

‘She was saying no. It's getting really cold and I think it was obviously just playing on her mind and she said she wanted to try and help,’ she adds.

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Having successfully sold her toys to raise funds for her mission, friends and family also donated to the cause, helping her raise £100.

Rayah was then able to purchase five bags full of groceries, purchased at the end of November and delivered to homeless charity, Two Saints in Fareham.

With services located in Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton, the charity provides outreach to people who are sleeping rough, including supported accommodation, day centres, community support, Housing First, mental health support and landlord support services.

Sian added: ‘She was really overwhelmed actually. Afterwards she burst into tears. I said, ‘Oh, what's wrong?’

‘She just said she was really happy to be able to help. I had a lovely message from one of the ladies at work at the homeless shelter to say that they were really touched and really grateful for it.’

The seven-year-old has plans to organise a collection every year for the charity.