Year 9 student Leo Turnbull, has coded an app so that every child (and adult!) can have access to an advent calendar this Christmas, whilst also raising money for mental health charity, Mind.
Leo’s success has made headlines in the local news with The Chronicle newspaper writing a feature praising his ‘thoughtful’ actions https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/gosforth-coronavirus-christmas-advent-calendar-19377710
We are incredibly proud of Leo, who has demonstrated exceptional character. His idea, which he has brought to fruition, embodies our Gosforth virtues of creativity, service, empathy and integrity, to name but a few!
Months of hard work have gone into designing the app and since the coronavirus lockdown has affected many people’s mental health, Leo has decided to feature an option to donate to a mental health charity, Mind, on his app.
Leo said: "It's a happy thing for people who can’t get out to buy or afford an advent calendar. It's a nice little fun alternative. A lot of advent calendars in the shops are too expensive for some families to afford so my app is free, a lot healthier and eco-friendly. It ensures all children can have an advent calendar this Christmas. It can also help support other people as even though your Christmas is fine it's really good to support other people as well by donating to Mind through my app. I came up with the idea of using it to fundraise for Mind because lots of people have been on their own during lockdown and are struggling with their mental health."
You can download Leo’s Advent Calendar app on all Android devices, computers and tablets on Google Play Store by following this link: tiny.cc/advent2020