A CONSCIENTIOUS group of teenagers from Wythall demonstrated their creative acumen when they raised more than £1,100 to build a picnic area in their local park.
The project formed part of a scheme led by the National Citizen Service.
Fund-raising coordinator Jemma Senior, 16, told The Standard: “We had to think of an idea to help our local community in Wythall so a group of us spent 30 hours making a plan and then another 30 hours following it through.
“Our idea was to create a picnic area in our local park because there wasn’t anywhere to sit for families and children.”
The group raised more than £550 through their JustGiving page, £200 was donated by Woodrush High School and £350 came from APM.
The youngsters promoted their campaign through social media and inspired their friends and families to donate.
Jemma said they had all been busy with GCSEs so began the fund-raising after their exams on June 11.
She said: “We spent £900 in total for everything. The rest of the money will be donated to a charity.”
Gemma said the group took responsibility for assembling the picnic area themselves – they ordered the benches, built them and then painted them in different colours. Some feature contact numbers for charities, including Childline, the NSPCC, the LGBT Community, Acorns and Action for Children.
“We also have a bench dedicated to National Citizen Service, another painted in rainbow colours for LGBT and a final bench created in a jigsaw design for the National Autism Society,” she added.
