Elijah is a 6-year-old boy, from Darlington who has a love of all things military, cares for nature, and likes to make sure his friends and family are okay. This has been the motivation for Elijah to put all these things together which resulted in this litter pick campaign, led by his alter ego ‘Sergeant Elijah’.
Elijah wants to help clean up the local environment, helping creatures to not get stuck in litter and to help make outside spaces look tidier. Elijah hopes this will discourage people dropping their rubbish and that instead they will hopefully take these home and recycle responsibly, helping to combat climate change.
Secondly, Elijah, wants to help people, who feel lonely, sad and isolated or individuals who suffer from mental health. He sees the work which Darlington Mind do as essential and that this is even more so, during times of lockdowns and the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Local MP, Peter Gibson, went out at the weekend to support Elijah in his campaign and was very impressed with his motivation and enthusiasm to support the cause.
Peter Gibson, Member of Parliament for Darlington, said: “It is vital during these challenging times that we pull together as a community and I am delighted to see Elijah setting such a fine example.
“Darlington Mind do such fantastic work locally and it is brilliant to see such a young boy actively promoting the work they do.”
Elijah said, "I just wanted to do it, to help people, help nature, the government and the environment"
Simon Davidson, CEO of Darlington Mind Ltd said: "A big thank you to both Peter Gibson and Elijah for doing such fantastic work, not only cleaning up the local environment, but for helping to make a difference to raise money to help us to support individuals in our local area who are enduring mental ill health.
“Elijah's dedication and commitment to spending an hour each week is making such a positive difference to other people and is an absolute inspiration to us all - thank you."
Darlington Mind support local people with their mental health needs who are under a lot of pressure during the lockdown. To support Sergeant Elijah’s campaign visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SergeantElijahLitterPick