‘Our daddy-daughter time was spent litter picking, now I hope people will keep her legacy alive by keeping Britain tidy’
A Yorkshire family has vowed to raise as much money as possible for their 11-year-old daughter’s legacy for less litter.
On April 3 this year, Matilda Pritchard, from Pudsey in Leeds, sadly and unexpectedly died, leaving parents Anna and Steve “devastated and heartbroken” with many unanswered questions.
Matilda had an undiagnosed heart condition called arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) which affects 1 in 1,000 people, a condition which Matilda showed no symptoms of having until she tragically died in her sleep.
Steve, 43, said: “The best way to describe grief, especially in the early stages, is that it comes in waves, sometimes the tide is out and the sun is shining, then other days the waves crash over you.
“Coping with grief is, for us, about coping with the good and bad times together as a family.”
As a way to channel their grief and to celebrate her life and her passions, Steve and Anna, 40, launched a fundraising campaign to raise money for an issue she was passionate about - litter.
Steve said: “In the early days, I think it was a week after Matilda had passed away, we just wanted to do something positive, so we created the Just Giving page to raise £11,213 for her birthday on 11/2/13.
“I thought it would take months to raise such a large amount, but it only took two weeks.”
This target has now been increased to £42,000 to support to Keep Britain Tidy for five years, the amount of time Matilda should have been at senior school.
Steve added: “Litter picking was one of 'our things' Matilda loved doing, it was great exercise and we just talked about random things until we were done.
“Those precious few hours remain one of my core memories, something which I will cherish forever.
“If I could do it all again, I would make sure I had more Daddy daughter time at least once per day.”
Steve, Anna and their other daughter Olivia, 14, are now getting support from Child Bereavement UK.
He said: “Everyone is different in how they cope with grief, we have found that talking about Matilda often has helped, in a small way, to fill the massive hole that she has left.
“We are all getting support from Child Bereavement UK and this has been really instrumental in helping us to cope.
“We will, in time, begin litter picking again but until then our work with Keep Britain Tidy has been a form of therapy for us, providing an outlet to focus our grief on something positive, something Matilda would be proud of.”
Steve said Matilda had a “compassionate heart and a strong sense of responsibility towards the environment.”
He said: “She was deeply impacted by the sight of litter around our local
community and its effects on nature.
“She cared so much that she joined a local litter-picking group in Pudsey, and Matilda dedicated her time to cleaning up the community she loved.
“When we were on our dog walks we would regularly collect bags of litter, ensuring our local public spaces remained clean and beautiful for everyone to enjoy. We were very proud of her for her community spirit and awareness of the environment.”
With the original target raised, the family have worked with Keep Britain Tidy to utilise the funds raised in the best possible manner to achieve Matilda’s dream.
They feel the eco-schools program is the most suitable channel to share Matilda’s story as well as the impact we all have on the environment.
Delivered by Keep Britain Tidy, Eco-Schools England is the biggest environmental education programme on the planet.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said; “We want to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to Anna and Steve who are fundraising for Keep Britain Tidy in memory of Matilda.
“Matilda dreamed of a world without rubbish, a dream we share. Her passion for keeping her local parks clean and tidy is a reminder to us all that one person can make a difference.
“No matter how big the environmental challenges we face, we would all do well to look at this beautiful country through the eyes of our children – through Matilda’s eyes – and keep striving for a world without rubbish”.
More information about Matilda’s fundraising campaign can be found on JustGiving and matildaslegacy.com.