Thanks for taking the time to visit Xanthe's JustGiving page.

As many of you will know my mother has been volunteering with Tash since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Xanthe was only 4 when it started but she has had an obsession with the war and the people of Ukraine ever since. She is constantly seeing the blue and yellow of their flag everywhere she looks and every time she goes to Scotland she also volunteers, organising and packing boxes to send things to Ukraine and to the front line. She has even had a lorry named for her. I think it was lorry number 86. Tash are just about to send their 122nd lorry to Ukraine. They are an incredible charity, as are the people who volunteer and the people who support it.

At the beginning of this year she asked if she could read books to make money for Ukraine. I said I would give her £2 a book and my parents said they would do the same. Little did I know she would take it so seriously. She has now read 28 books and started her 29th this morning. The books are in Spanish and English and range from books of 150 pages to books 350 pages, i.e they are not just story books. On the whole she reads totally alone but occasionally I get called in to give some historical context e.g in the diary of Anne Frank (following our trip to the house in January) and Six wives of Henry VIII (following her trip to see Six the musical with her godfather Leo). Very occasionally I get asked what a word means in her Spanish books but that is becoming less and less now.

While I'm not setting this up for Xanthe to beg people for money, I feel this is an achievement that I cannot share with other people. Of course, she reads because she loves it but she's also reading because she knows that every book she reads she's making money to give to TASH. If anyone would like to contribute, even just a few £££ towards her challenge, I know she would be so grateful and excited.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.