Blog and News

Eleven-year-old Marnie Wadlow shares Easter spirit by giving eggs to families in Derby A KIND-HEARTED schoolgirl who bought and delivered Christmas meals to families in Derby feeling the pinch is asking for donations of chocolate eggs to distribute over Easter.

Marnie was joined by her younger sister Ridley on her recent mile walk to keep her motivation levels up! Click here to watch the video! Ridley, age 8, brought tonnes of energy to the mile-long walk; one of 25 that Marnie is undertaking in her quest to raise money for Christmas dinners for SEND families this Christmas. Whilst Marnie is now well known for her charity work, her younger sister Ridley also has a name for herself as she has spent the last few years raising awareness of the most common learning difficulty Developmental Language Disorder. You can watch one of Ridley's enlightening and entertaining Facebook live videos by clicking here . "I have DLD, but I still achieve a lot and I don't get as anxious as I used to because I'm getting better at understanding it. There are lots of children like me, and their parents have to fight hard to get assessments for them and get sensory toys and things like that. It means that it can be hard to afford Christmas so I like that Marnie tries her best to help them. We love Christmas you see!" said Ridley, who's featured on several campaigns launched by Sunshine Support. "I loved having Ridley come with me on the walk. It gets lonely sometimes, as it's just me with Dad filming the walk in cool ways. I was starting to lose motivation. Ridley is crazy and so she brought me some energy I think!" Marnie's putting a great deal of effort and commitment into her campaign, remember to donate and/or nominate !

Marnie was overwhelmingly excited to meet Sally Pepper on her BBC Radio Derby show yesterday, 13th December. Sally chatted with Marnie and her mum Chrissa about the origins of Marnie Delivers Christmas and why she feels so inspired to give to the community. "I started by giving Christmas dinners to 5 families in 2020. Then last year we raised it to 15 families, this year I hope to help 25 families" The ingredients that Marnie buys with the money she has raised include turkey, all the trimmings, Christmas crackers and the all-important Prosecco. It was an utterly emotional interview, with Chrissa shedding tears throughout! The interview was filmed, you can watch it below...

“We have been so extremely effected by COVID, we have lost two incomes into the house because of it. We have children with SEND and chronic illnesses ourselves, we feel lonely and forgotten. Marnie you have changed all of that, you are so incredibly kind. I can’t believe how much food you’ve just dropped off… And Prosecco! What a Christmas we will have, you’ve made it one to remember” I cried when I dropped off these shopping bags in 2020. I really did. It made me want to do more in 2021. And here I am in 2022 still trying my best to feed families at Christmas time... Please dig deep and help! Nominate yourself or someone else to win a Christmas dinner, or donate if you can…

She's not bored yet! Marnie has been busy walking another mile to raise money for families this Christmas! Watch her funky video here. Marnie is walking 25 miles in total and hopes to raise £100 per mile in order to feed families this Christmas. It's her third year of this wonderful initiative, and she's only 11! Donate or nominate a family and help Marnie in her quest.

“Marnie you’re a kind soul, I can’t believe what you’ve just delivered to us. We have never had such a luxurious Christmas feast! We will be forever grateful to you, you’ve made this a Christmas to remember” I always feel a bit weird posting these comments, my mum says I should enjoy the feeling of pride. But I suppose I don’t do it for that, I just want people to have a lovely Christmas. My mum has always enjoyed Christmas and loves the time we spend together and all food we eat, I feel really lucky to have that and so just want to spread it around. The first year I did this I did it out of my own pocket money and some money my mum donated, but there are so many families in need my GoHenry card doesn’t stretch far enough! So I need your help… Can you give a donation or share some of my social media posts ? I’m grateful for either (or both!).

The weather has started to get really cold, but that's not stopped Marnie! Winter hat and duvet coat on and off she goes! Click here to see her fab video ! Marnie is walking 25 miles and hopes to raise £100 per mile in order to feed families this Christmas. It's her third year of this wonderful initiative, and she's only 11! Donate or nominate a family to help Marnie's fantastic campaign !

“Marnie you have no idea how much of a difference you’ve made to my family, receiving our food today made me cry. It’s lifted a huge weight. Thank you” This was a lovely message I received last year, and the family even sent me pictures. I was so happy for them. Nominate yourself or someone else to win a Christmas dinner, or donate if you can…

Marnie has been busy walking (and walking and walking) to raise money to fund Christmas dinners for SEND families this Christmas. Marnie, age 11 from Derby, has pledged to walk 25 miles in the hope of raising enough money to feed 25 families this Christmas. Marnie who is a proud SEND sibling and also experiences sensory processing difficulties herself said "I love being able to help families who live with special educational needs, it comes naturally to me and there's no better time to be able to help than at Christmas" You can watch Marnie's progress as she walks 25 miles to raise awareness of her campaign right here on YouTube . Donate to the Marnie Delivers Christmas campaign by clicking here .