Sunderland siblings Rhys and Gabrielle in epic walk for soup kitchen

Rhys and Gabrielle Watson from Pennywell are trying to raise £150 for Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen by walking from South Shields to Roker on Sunday, September 29.

Rhys, 10 and Gabrielle, eight, are pupils at Christ's College. Their mam Claire Watson takes part in the Olio scheme; collecting food five times a week from supermarkets and distributing it to those who most need it.

The soup kitchen, established in 2019, has a warehouse on Addison Street in Hendon. Details of how to contribute produce for distribution are available on the charity’s website.

Claire said: "The kids love getting involved with it and they help me. Rhys said he wanted to help Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen. Gabrielle is keen too.

"Normally they hate walking."

Nevertheless, Rhys and Gabrielle will put their best feet forward, accompanied by Claire, along the beautiful coastal stretch.

The charity, which has its headquarters on Sunderland’s High Street West, has said: "These fantastic young ambassadors wanted to make a difference and have thought long and hard about ways in which they could do that.

"They both have lots of fantastic ideas and have chosen to walk a massive 6.9 miles, even though they hate walking, to raise money for our charity.

"We love it when children are so passionate about helping others. Well done guys."

To contribute to Rhys and Gabrielle’s efforts, please visit Claire’s GoFundMe page.