Sheffield schoolgirl raises £20,000 selling homemade crafts

9 January 2024

News image — Leah started fundraising after her friend Jude Mellon-Jameson died aged five from a rare childhood cancer

Family handout Leah (left) and Jude Mellon-Jameson — Leah started fundraising after her friend Jude Mellon-Jameson died aged five from a rare childhood cancer

An 11-year-old girl has raised over £20,000 by selling handmade items and raffling signed football merchandise.

Leah began creating football-themed items to raise money for her friend Jude Mellon-Jameson, who died aged five of a rare childhood cancer.

Leah, from Sheffield, initially sold keyrings and bookmarks embroidered with football logos for £1.50 each.

Several Sheffield Wednesday footballers, including Barry Bannan, then started donating signed items.

Leah's dad, Craig, said his daughter had wanted to raise money after her friend Jude Mellon-Jameson was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer.

"When Jude passed away in September last year, obviously we were all gutted," he said.

"But Leah just turned around four days after and said, 'I want to carry on'."

Craig said the pair became "quite giddy" when funds approached £20,000 and "a big Facebook push" helped reach the target.

Family handout Leah with some of the items she made — Leah sewed hair scrunchies, keyrings and bookmarks in her kitchen at home

Leah asked for a sewing machine for Christmas and her mum, Charlotte, said the family's kitchen had become a crafting workshop.

Craig said since Leah was little, Wednesday footballer Barry Bannan had been her sporting hero.

"They've become quite close, [Bannan] helps her out a lot," he said.

"She asked Barry, 'would you sponsor me?' He put down £100 then he's gone into the changing rooms and said 'There's a little girl outside that I want every one of you to sponsor'."

Sheffield Wednesday helped by donating autographs and signed shirts, he said, with the ball from the Barnsley play-off final in May auctioned for £1,000.

Craig Walton Leah (third from left) was personally thanked for her fundraising by the CEO of Sheffield Children's Hospital, Ruth Brown (left) — Leah (third from left) was personally thanked for her fundraising by Ruth Brown (left), the CEO of Sheffield Children's Hospital where Jude died

A further £1,000 was raised from signed shirts from footballers Lee Gregory and Aden Flint.

Lucy Bronze and Ellie Roebuck from the England Lionesses donated signed shirts, boots and a ball, while Matt Helders from Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys gave an album which sold for £500.