A kind-hearted primary pupil has run the soles off his trainers as he tries to raise money for charity during lockdown.
And with just a week to go until he finishes his efforts in East Kilbride, he is hoping for one final push to help those in need.
Zac Wright has been pounding the pavements since the end of May to raise money for Mary’s Meals.
The Clarkston youngster set himself a challenge to run 100 miles in 50 days to raise £238.50 – the equivalent of feeding 15 children every day for a year – but he has already smashed that.
Proud mum Mo told the News: “He has been running every day during lockdown and his running has improved.
“So he decided to take on a challenge for charity. And he has already more than quadrupled his fundraising targer and has amassed over £1000 so far.”
Zac is due to conclude his marathon challenge on Sunday (July 12), running from his home in Clarkston to his grandparent’s house in East Kilbride.
Mo added: “Zac has always enjoyed running and he’s so pleased and thankful for every donation.
“We have been completely overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. So, by way of a dramatic ending, he will run to his grandparents in St Leonard’s.
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“He knows he’s still got to get the miles in but he is definitely looking forward to finishing up and enjoying a drink in the garden knowing he has raised so much for the charity.”
Mary’s Meals provides chronically hungry children with one meal every school day, encouraging education that can lift them out of poverty in later life.
The charity was founded in 2002 and has grown from its first feeding operation of 200 children in Malawi, to a worldwide campaign, providing free school meals in hundreds of schools and feeding more than one million children daily.
Ten-year-old Zac chose the charity as the benefactors of his efforts, fearing it had been forgotten about during the coronavirus pandemic.
On his fundraising page, Zac said: “Most people have heard of Mary’s Meals, but I have noticed lots of international charities seem to have been forgotten about because of all this confusion with COVID-19.
“For the whole of my life, I have taken so many things for granted – education, food, water, and all a child’s daily needs.
“A visitor from Mary’s Meals came to my school one day and told everyone all about the people living in poverty and distress all around the world.
“I wanted to host a fundraiser for months, but I never got round to doing so. Then I realised, ‘what better time was there to do a fundraiser for a charity, than in its most desperate time of need?’”
To donate to Zac’s cause, visit: https://giving.marysmeals.org/en_gb/projects/njlz-100-miles-in-50-days-for-15-children
