By Alesha Capone
A seven-year-old girl from Point Cook, who set up a foundation to help feed homeless people, has received an award recognising her compassion and kindness.
Andi was just six when she founded Food for Free, which distributes snack packs and meals to homeless people.
She has also set up Facebook and GoFundMe pages to help fundraise for the work she is doing.
When Star Weekly first interviewed Andi in July last year, she said she was inspired to help the homeless after she saw people sleeping on the footpath in Adelaide, where her father regularly travels for work.
Andi – with assistance from her family, including her younger brother Tex – started out by making snack packs to give to homeless people. Andi’s family accompanies her as she walks around the city streets, handing out the packs to people sleeping rough. Sometimes they also distribute hot meals.
The snack packs are decorated with the Food for Free mascot, a panda, which was inspired by Andi’s nickname, “Andi Pandi”.
“Sometimes, I’m a little nervous when I’m handing them (the snack packs) out,” Andi said.
“But the people say, ‘Thank you’, and one man put his hand on his heart.”
Andi said her ultimate ambition was to establish a restaurant where homeless people could eat for free.
Earlier this month, Andi was presented with a Pretty Inspirational award by non-profit Pretty Foundation.
The inaugural awards celebrate the achievement of girls under the age of 18.
The Pretty Foundation aims to teach girls that they are not valuable for what they look like, but rather for who they are.
See www.facebook.com/
