Everyone at our Middlesbrough store is so proud of kind-hearted six-year-old Esmae Morgan who raised more than £1,000 to buy essential supplies and Christmas presents for struggling families.
Asda Middlesbrough supports Esmae Morgan who raised more than £1,000 to help people in need this Christmas
Esmae told colleagues what she’d done when she called in with her mum Aneliese to buy the items with the money she’d raised.
Colleagues were so impressed they donated money to her cause, and the store’s community champion Hayley arranged for a Tannoy message congratulating Esmae, before opening up a till especially for her and letting her scan all the goods.
Customers and colleagues clapped and cheered Esmae when they heard.
Hayley said: “We were so pleased to have Esmae come in to store and so proud that at only six years old she wanted to support our local community – especially at this time with many families worried about Christmas.
Asda Middlesbrough supports Esmae Morgan who raised more than £1,000 to help people in need this Christmas
“She is such a lovely young lady and very polite. She had fun doing her shopping but I’m sure her favourite part of her shopping trip was scanning some items through the till, and she was really good at it. I’ve told her to come back for a job when she’s old enough!
“A number of colleagues also donated to her on the day when they found out what she had done. We put a Tannoy announcement out so customers and colleagues knew what an amazing thing she had done and she was clapped and congratulated by everyone she passed.
Asda Middlesbrough supports Esmae Morgan who raised more than £1,000 to help people in need this Christmas
“I’m sure Esmae had a fab time in store, but I loved helping. It put me in the mood for Christmas and is a reminder to everyone what great local community spirit we have. Well done Esmae, you’re a star!”
Esmae’s mum Aneliese, who regularly stops in the store, said: “We are all so proud of Esmae – she’s an amazing girl. She thinks it’s so important to help families who are struggling at the moment.
“She loved going round our Asda – she had a hand-held scanner with her all the time pretending to scan. We got five trolleys full of goods! She absolutely loved it when Hayley opened up a till just for her and allowed her to scan the shopping.
Asda Middlesbrough supports Esmae Morgan who raised more than £1,000 to help people in need this Christmas
“When it went out on the Tannoy about what she was doing and everyone clapped, Esmae loved it. She felt like a famous star.”
After watching how Middlesbrough gym owner Mike Hind and his team had been delivering care packages to vulnerable people throughout the pandemic, Aneliese said Esmae wanted to do something similar for Christmas.
Esmae, with the help of her mum, asked local businesses for prizes and then held a raffle on Facebook with tickets costing £2. She raised an amazing £1,1028 and gave £300 to Mr Hind towards his project and then spent the rest in our store.
The goods she bought have been delivered to her school, St Gabriel’s Catholic Primary School, who with the help of the charity CAUSE are making up hampers food and Christmas gifts for local families who need help.
Aneliese said: “Esmae has loved doing this and this will definitely be something we will do next year too.”