An eight-year-old girl from Wavertree has put her creative talents to charitable use during homeschooling to raise money for food banks.
Reimi Yasuda, who is a pupil at Greenbank Primary School, was inspired by the rainbows displayed in windows that have become a symbol of hope during the coronavirus outbreak.
With the help of her family, she has set up a crowdfunding page where people can donate to download Reimi’s football-themed rainbow design in aid of raising money for Fans for Foodbanks.
Her mum, Sarah Kinney, told the ECHO that Reimi was inspired during her daily walk to create a rainbow made up of the blue and red first-team colours of Everton and Liverpool football club, as well as The Toffees’ salmon away kit and The Reds’ white second strip.
Sarah said: “Reimi was quite aware of how it felt to be worried about food.
"We went shopping about a week ago and there was nothing in the supermarket and I think that played on her mind.
"We started talking about things and that’s when the idea of the food bank came up.
"She really is a compassionate little girl."
Reimi and her parents have had to stay away from family members during the coronavirus lockdown and they wanted to make sure she had a way of keeping in touch.
"I set her up on the WhatsApp group with all the family members as she’s very close to everybody and missing everybody," Sarah said.
"When we stood on the doorstep and clapped for the NHS, Reimi came up with the idea for this rainbow just for the NHS with the football colours on. She said everybody would like it.
"She’s a really creative girl and every day we end up doing some kind of craft.
"Reimi sent the picture with the rainbow to her great uncle John and that was the start of it."
A fundraising target of £500 has currently been set but the family hope that it will beat that and raise nearer £1,000.
I asked Sarah how Reimi felt knowing that her painting is helping to help fight hunger in the city and supporting vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis.
Sarah added: "She’s dead excited, she can’t believe it, she is just stunned, absolutely stunned.
"I think she likes that she can see something happening from her idea and that it’s important to do something productive even if you’re stuck inside.
"She just wants to make sure that other little kids don’t have to worry about food."
