10-year-old’s Purple Day fundraiser raises nearly £1k for Epilepsy Action

An Arundel pupil with epilepsy has raised nearly £1,000 for charity by encouraging his school community to walk, run, hop, skip, jump, cycle, swim, scoot or skate 1km.
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Oscar Maitland rallied St Philip’s Catholic Primary School families to join him in marking Purple Day – an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing epilepsy awareness which is held annually on March 26.

The ten-year-old, who has focal seizures frequently and takes medication to try to reduce them, read about the work of Epilepsy Action while researching epilepsy charities for a home school project and decided he wanted to raised money to help the charity.

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Oscar said: “Sometimes it is frightening and confusing, but it makes me feel better to try to understand what happens in my brain with my epilepsy, what is being done to help, and just how many other people have epilepsy just like me.

Oscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in ArundelOscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in Arundel
Oscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in Arundel

“Did you know that it would take 715 double-decker buses to carry all the children with epilepsy in the UK? That’s 51,500 children!”

He wrote letters to all the school families outlining the idea for his fundraiser, and also planned and delivered an assembly and Q&A session.

On Purple Day, Oscar and his year-five classmates walked 1km to Hiorne Tower in Arundel Park, while all other classes were asked to take part from home and send pictures to school.

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To donate to Oscar’s fundraiser for Epilepsy Action visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/purpleday1k

Oscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in ArundelOscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in Arundel
Oscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in Arundel

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Oscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in ArundelOscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in Arundel
Oscar Maitland with his year five classmates from St Philip’s Catholic Primary school in Arundel

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