After raising over £40,000 for the Little Harbour Children’s Hospice, Truro Prep School student Madison Glinski has just been named as one of the finalists in JustGiving’s Young Fundraiser of the Year competition.
Ten year-old Madison is one of only three young fundraisers in the entire country to be shortlisted for the national award, following over 10,000 nominations.
The young musician started fundraising in early 2014 after setting a New Year’s resolution to raise £500 for the Little Harbour Children’s Hospice based in St Austell.
In order to raise the money she bravely took to the streets of Cornwall busking in various locations with her violin.
However, her talent for playing the violin quickly captured the imagination of the passing public and Madison swiftly surpassed her original target.
Instead of being happy with £500, Madison realised she had the potential to raise significantly more, setting a new target of £10,000.
Despite being 20 times higher than her original goal, the momentum of her fundraising campaign continued to snowball, resulting in Madison announcing her ambition to raise £50,000 just a few months later.
Eighteen months on, Madison’s donations currently stand at £41,148, with £19,407 coming from her JustGiving page and £21,741 from busking.
Madison’s reasons for supporting the Little Harbour Children’s Hospice are stated on her JustGiving page, where she writes: “I chose Little Harbour Children’s Hospice as I feel sad when adults die but at least they had a childhood, but when children die they have not had this special time. With the hospice’s help the children and their families get a lot of love and care at a very needy time.”
Mary Murfin, Community Fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West, said: ‘We are so grateful for all of the fundraising that Madison has done for Children’s Hospice South West. She is such an inspirational fundraiser with a lot of drive and passion to raise vital funds for our charity, and it is amazing to see what a great following Madison now has in Cornwall and further afield.’
Cast your votes for the Young Fundraiser of the Year award via the Just Giving Facebook page. Voting closes at midnight on 30 August with the winner to be announced on Wednesday 23 September in London.
