Colchester United hosted Crewe Alexandra for the final game of the 2023/24 league season, and we were delighted to welcome our Community Champion for April – Lucas Harvey!
6-year-old Lucas recently raised over £1,000 for the homeless charity, Shelter, by running the equivalent of more than a marathon across the month of March, because, as he says,
“Everyone needs to be able to stay warm. Hopefully, the money I raised can help to buy food and blankets too.”
Lucas completed a 1 mile run every day across March, alongside his mum, Lindsey, and Dad, Conor, who said that Lucas has always been empathetic towards the homeless community and often asks his parents a range of questions, curious of their situation, when he sees someone who is living on the streets.
Jackie Edge, who works for Shelter, nominated Lucas as a Community Champion and described Lucas as an “awesome supporter” and initailly sent him a t-shirt that he could wear for parts of his run, before wanting to recognise his efforts even more.
"I want to run for the homeless because everyone needs houses to stay warm and not be ill. Maybe the money I raise can buy blankets and food to help them as well."
Lucas, a U’s fan, completed the fastest of his 31 miles in just over 12 minutes, even committing to the challenge when he was off school and feeling unwell, stating that “Homeless people have to live outside when they’re ill.”
Speaking on her son’s efforts, Lindsey said
"Me and his dad, Conor, are so proud of Lucas. He has always been quite an empathetic little boy and asks many questions when he sees a homeless person.
"The fact he wants to help at such a young age makes us even prouder."
"It was completely up to Lucas to do this. We’ve had to run alongside him every day - so trust me I wouldn’t have come up with the idea!
He just wants to help, and he does enjoy running, so I think he thought it would be a fun thing to do."
If you would like to donate to Lucas’ cause, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/page/lucasrunsmiles
