Declan has a goal to end homelessness

At just eight-years-old Declan Kempson felt upset every time he walked past someone sleeping on the street, but rather than brood on it and feel helpless, he decided he would do something to help.

Enlisting the assistance of his mother Sharon, he set about organising a Fun Day at the Blackburn Partnership Centre in January, which included a tombola, home baking stall, raffle, bouncy castle, face painting, beat the goalie and a variety of other stalls and products.

Around 150 people attended the event which raised just over £1,000.

Why did you choose Social Bite?  We chose Social Bite as it is an organisation that is working hard to make things better for the homeless and we have an aunt whose company works with Social Bite.

How did you publicise the event?  We advertised on loads of local Facebook groups, wrote into the West Lothian Courier and put posters up in local shops.

Did you experience any difficulties?  We found it a challenge with the licence we needed and donations were fewer than anticipated, but we did really well otherwise.

Do you feel you got anything out of it yourselves?  It was stressful building up to it, but at the end of the day it felt good to realise what we actually pulled together and how much we raised in total.

Would you do anything like this again?  Now that we know what it entails, down the line we would like to do it again, but would be more organised next time, knowing exactly what is needed.