Media release – UNICEF, 05 December 2023

Four year old’s flower stall for children in the Gaza crisis

A little girl with a love of flowers has held her first fundraiser to support the children in crisis in the Gaza conflict.

Four year old Kingston, from Tasmania’s east coast, has held a flower stall and donated half of the money raised to UNICEF Australia’s Gaza Crisis Appeal.

Her mother Monique said the idea blossomed after Kingston came up to her and asked “Mummy, can you put some of your money from your purse into my purse?” She then talked to her daughter about ways to earn money and how she could do this by using her passion.

“Kingston has a real passion for flowers. We spend many hours gardening or walking around our area discovering different types of flowers,” Monique said. “So we came up with the idea to create beautiful bouquets from the flowers in our garden and sell them at a flower stall.”

After some research, Monique decided they would fundraise for UNICEF Australia’s Gaza Crisis Appeal.

“Without sharing the darkness of the world, we wanted Kingston to appreciate that there are children who are facing challenges in their lives who need our help,” she said.

“We admire that UNICEF is providing essential and life-saving resources to children in the Gaza crisis and felt this was the most hopeful way to show support.”

The flower stall was a huge success, selling out within the hour. As for little Kingston, she said holding the stall and donating the money made her feel “good”.

Since the stall, Kingston and her mother have delivered more than 10 additional bouquets and are continuing to take orders.

With the money raised from the stall, and with extra donations from people cheering on Kingston’s wonderful efforts, she has managed to raise more than $400.

The situation for children and families in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic, with more than 400 children killed or injured each day. Since the escalation of violence, UNICEF has been on the ground, supporting water trucking to shelters and hospitals, and providing medical supplies, health kits and psychosocial support.

UNICEF is calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the prevention and end to any grave violations against children, including the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all abducted children.

CEO of UNICEF Australia, Tony Stuart said, “Giving children a voice is at the heart of what we do, which makes it all the more inspiring to see children as young as Kingston finding ways to support children in need. It’s the incredible ideas and efforts, such as this flower stall, that allow UNICEF to deliver the desperately needed supplies and services to the children and families who are experiencing extremely dangerous and devastating circumstances each day of this crisis.”

To support Kingston visit https://fundraise.unicef.org.au/monique-artis and you can find out more about UNICEF Australia’s Gaza Crisis Appeal at unicef.org.au/gaza.