Young Wolverhampton fundraiser Louis nears £6,000 mark

Louis Johnson, 12, is taking a well-deserved break in early 2019 after a busy year of fundraising for the charity – which now stands at the grand total of £5,701.

He had originally set himself a target of raising £3,500 this year for the hospital after meeting young cancer sufferer Ben Collins, now five, three years ago. Ben, who now lives in Brierley Hill, has Ewing's sarcoma – a type of blood cancer – and is receiving treatment at Birmingham Children's Hospital. He was given six months to live in January.

But as Louis soon approached the £3,500 milestone – he decided to aim for £5,000 by Christmas.

And last week fundraisers at the charity broke the news to him that was actually pushing for £6,000 in a year.

It now means in eight years of fundraising since he was five-years-old – young Louis has raised nearly £20,000 for various local charities including Compton Hospice, Midlands Air Ambulance and the Steve Bull Foundation.

The Smestow School pupil began raising money when he took part in a five-mile memory walk in West Park in aid of Compton Hospice. He first got involved with the charity after they cared for his nan before she died.

Louis, from Tettenhall Wood, said: "I am really happy and very proud of myself for raising nearly £6,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital. I really did not expect to raise that much in a year.

"I started raising money for them about a year ago after my friend Ben got cancer and was being treated there. He is quite a close friend of mine and I really wanted to support them.

"I feel really happy to know that I am making a difference – not just to Ben but for other children being treated there too."

It has been a big year for Louis who was also named as one of two child ambassadors for the British Citizen Youth Awards in October. He had been the first youngster in the West Midlands to receive the British Citizen Youth Award in 2016.

Other accolades this year include the Duncan Edwards Good Citizen Award and a Certificate of Excellence from the Mayor of Wolverhampton. The family's home is full of various medals, trophies and certificates for Louis' fundraising.

Louis said: "I'm in year eight at school now and need to choose my options. I would like to do science and maths as I enjoy them. I have wanted to be a paramedic since I was five-years-old and I met the emergency bikers. I just want to help others and I have just passed my first aid course at school.

"I enjoy meeting new people which is one of the reasons I like to do fundraising. I like to support local charities to where I am from in Wolverhampton.

"Next year I am thinking about doing a 12-hour walk to raise funds for Birmingham Children's Hospital in some sort of fancy dress costume. Hopefully I will be able to do that around Easter time but we are looking for sponsors. I will try to get others to join in with the walk.

"Last year I did a baked bean bath but I want to do another bath challenge. I would like to do one like on I'm A Celebrity with cockroaches and mealworms – but not spiders as I am scared of them.

"I just want to thank everyone for their support with my fundraising over the last year."

His proud mother Teresa added: "He has done really well this year – I couldn't believe it when they told us he had nearly hit £6,000.

"I am really proud of him – he's had such a big year. The support he has had is amazing."