Sometimes young minds have the best ideas, and this is definitely the case with 10-year-old Hobart youngster, Oliver Edwards.
Oliver was given a homework challenge to come up with an idea that would be good for his community and after talking to his mum, Cathy, about homelessness thought up a concept so lovely the world has stopped to take notice.
Oliver and his mum collect second-hand coats and hang them from trees around Hobart with a note, “Free on a tree. If you need this, it’s yours.”
Images from Free from a Tree facebook page.
The duo, who’ve set up a Facebook page, Free on a Tree, to spread awareness about their cause, began hanging the coats up about two weeks ago.
School friends’ parents donated some, and Cathy found a few in her wardrobe.
But before long a local radio station had picked up the story and there are now donation points set up at different spots around Hobart. The idea is also said to have spread to other parts of Tasmania, and Oliver has found himself the centre of media attention.
Cathy told Mamamia that Oliver likes to take his mates out with him to hang the coats.
She said she wanted Oliver to have an awareness of community and understand there are small things we can do that make a difference for those who “miss out”.
“In Hobart, we’ve got these little pockets of homelessness. It’s pretty grim out there, so it’s nice to be able to do a tiny little bit. Even if it’s just a few people knowing that there are people out there who care.”
