A schoolgirl from Huyton has been ‘shocked’ by the response to her efforts to raise money for the people of Ukraine through her artwork.
Grace Clarke is a 15-year-old student at Archbishop Blanch School who found herself powerless as she watched reports of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But instead of doing nothing she decided to act in the best way she knew how: through her art.
She began to sell her artwork via Instagram and donate her earnings to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which works to provide aid and essentials to families who have had to leave their lives behind in war-torn Ukraine. The charity says four million people are expected to be displaced by the conflict.
READ MORE: Liverpool ready to welcome Ukrainian refugees
Grace told the ECHO: “Art is something I’ve always done, so I thought if I could sell it and make money to donate from that - doing what I love as well as helping people - then why not give it a go.”
She expected a decent-enough response - mostly from friends and family, as any kid would when working on a project. But she was soon taking orders from total strangers.
She said: “Honestly, the response from people has been really good. I expected family and friends to help because they’ve always supported me, but the help from people I’ve never met who genuinely care and want to support me with this has been really shocking because I
didn’t expect people to care so much about a 15-year-old selling art.”
When asked what she thinks this could turn into, she responded simply: “I think for now I’m going to continue supporting Ukraine until the support’s not needed. I feel like they’re always going to need support until this conflict is over with.”
“I think in the future I’d love to do more projects like this supporting charities because I love to help people, and obviously there’s so many things that I can support. I think I’ll always do things like this.
“I know it’s difficult right now after living through a pandemic but we can all do something to help, whether it’s just raising awareness or donating money there’s always something you can do.”
Grace has put no price tag on her art, and is instead asking for those interested to donate the amount they want to help support those fleeing the war. You can find her on Instagram at @grace_art_19.
