Marissa Newman|
The whole community have seen the devastation the drought and bushfires have had in the Clarence Valley and beyond. So, a special light is shining on a very special nine-year-old from Grafton Aidan Really.
Aidan loves to help people and is great at making cupcakes, so, he decided to combine the two and start a cupcake fundraiser. Aidan plans to raise money for a different cause each month so that way he can help the many people who are doing it tough and need his help.
Aidan just completed his first fundraiser and has raised money to buy Christmas presents for children that have been affected by the bushfires.
“If the kids lost their homes from the fires and lost all their toys, I’m buying new ones so they can get stuff for Christmas,” Aidan said.
Aidan is on the Autism spectrum and the common misunderstanding is that people with Autism don’t fully understand emotions, in particular empathy, but Aidan is proving them wrong with his cupcake fundraising. The need to help people is giving Aidan a lot of confidence and is showing him that he is really appreciated.
Aidan so far has raised over $1400. On Saturday Aidan took a trip to Kmart with his mum to buy presents for the children who have lost everything.
“We got three bikes, four remote control cars with a controller and a dune buggy on the back, a couple of nerf guns and craft stuff.”
Aidan really enjoys cooking and the joy his cupcakes bring to other people, saying that he makes the cupcakes so people can enjoy them.
Aidan’s next cupcake fundraiser starts on December 1st, however, you can place your order at any time. He plans to make blue and green iced cupcakes. Blue to bring the rain with the hope it will turn everything green again. The money that he raises from these cupcakes will be used to buy gift vouchers which will be given to farmers with bags of dog food to help feed their working animals.
If you would like support Aidan in his fundraising, you can order his cupcakes from the Facebook page Cupcakes made by Aidan for local fundraising. The cupcakes come in a box of six and Aidan simply asks that you pay a donation for the cupcakes.
Alternatively if you would like to donate ingredients or donate a bag of dog food to the cause these can be left at You Love’em We Scrub’m grooming salon. In Queen Street Grafton.