When Isaac started his journey to address food poverty in our home town of Redditch in 2020, he certainly didn’t set out to change his community.
He was nine years old. He didn’t have a title, a platform, a team or a strategic plan. He simply saw people struggling and decided he wanted to help.
Inspired by Marcus Rashford, Isaac believed that people shouldn’t go without food simply because they were having a difficult time. What happened next has changed far more than I could ever have imagined.
What started with Isaac giving out food on our driveway has now grown to a six-site food bank called Friends of Isaac’s Food Bank which feeds 5,000 people a year.
The moments that matter most
Over the last six years, there have been the big moments. Incredible donations, awards, a trip to Parliament and opportunities to meet people and organisations we could never have imagined being connected with when Isaac first started.
But when people ask me what has made the biggest impact, I don’t think about the awards. I think about the little moments.
I remember a stranger who recognised Isaac in a supermarket and gave him a tearful hug because of what he had done. We’ve seen people who once came to us for support later return to donate food or volunteer their time.
One child was so inspired by Isaac that they chose to spend their birthday money buying food for other families.
These moments tell us something that statistics never can.
Challenging assumptions
Isaac hasn’t simply inspired his community to help others. He has inspired his classmates, other children and their parents. He has shown other disabled children that they can be changemakers too.
And, perhaps most importantly, he’s challenged some of the assumptions we hold as a society. We can be quick to decide what someone can or cannot achieve based on their age, their circumstances or their disability.
Isaac has spent the last six years quietly challenging those assumptions. Not by talking about what he might be capable of one day. But by getting on and doing it.
So, what makes a leader?
That’s where I think we sometimes misunderstand leadership. We imagine a leader as someone with a position, authority or influence. Someone who stands at the front and tells everyone else where to go.
Isaac had none of those things when he started. What he had was belief, determination and the courage to act.
He didn’t change the community on his own. He gave people a reason to change it with him, from a child donating a tin at school to a business opening its doors or a volunteer giving their time. We’ve seen families donating what they can and people who once needed support becoming someone who now wants to support others.
Individually, these moments might look small. But together, they become something much bigger.
The difference one person can make
As Isaac’s mum, perhaps one of the greatest privileges has been watching his impact reach far beyond food.
I’ve watched him give other children confidence, seen adults begin to rethink their assumptions and watched disabled children see themselves differently.
Find out more about Friends of Isaac’s Food Bank: https://teamisaac.co.uk/
About the Author
Claire is the proud mum of Isaac, founder of Friends of Isaac’s Food Bank, where she supports the day-to-day running of the organisation and its incredible team. What started as Isaac’s idea has grown into a vital community service, and she is passionate about helping it continue to make a real difference to families in need.