SIX-YEAR-OLD Amirah Stones is a busy girl. She’s bright and chatty and full of zest and plays football five times a week.

So it’s even more remarkable that when she is not training with her local team Brompton juniors and further afield with the Middlesbrough Lionesses, she regularly spends her precious free time taking food parcels and clothing to homeless people.

When most children of her age are wild with excitement to open their presents, Amirah chose to spend her Christmas Day helping out at the Northallerton Community Meal for people on their own or without a home.

For her Christmas present she asked for two train tickets to London so she and her mum Sarah could go and hand out food, clothing and toiletries to the homeless on the capital’s streets.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Every month Amirah and her mum, who live in Brompton, go to York with bags and suitcases full of goodies they have bought and collected to give out in the city to the homeless people they find there.

“The people Amirah approaches are so touched that she wants to talk to them and thankful to get the warm food and clothes she gives”, said Sarah.

“Some of them are moved to tears which makes her even more determined to keep on helping them.”

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Amirah can remember clearly what set her on this path. “I was in London with mummy and we went to a café and there was this man outside sitting on the pavement and I wouldn’t eat my chicken nuggets because I wanted to save some for the man who had nothing to eat.”

Most of us might go no further than acknowledge our child’s concern for others less fortunate but Sarah wanted Amirah to eat her lunch because they had a busy day in London visiting the Tower of London and other historic sites.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

So here was the deal. If Amirah would eat up her lunch, Sarah would buy a meal at the café for the man sitting outside. They invited him to their table to eat it with them.

From that time on Amirah wanted to carry on doing something for the homeless people she saw on the streets.

“It makes me feel really sad to see people who are cold and on the ground and so we go out with nice warm snuggly scarves and give them to people we find”, said Amirah.

“If I haven’t got anything left to give out I ask people how they are and what their name is and say hello. If you were on the ground like them, you wouldn’t want people to walk past you would you?

“I think that would make you feel quite bad.”

  • If you know someone who makes a difference in their community, get in touch and let us know about them by emailing SaltOfTheEarth@northyorks.gov.uk