A 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus who wowed the internet during the Covid lockdowns by learning scores of songs to play on the piano has closed his fundraising effort after raising more than 25 times his target. Lennie Street, from Morley, West Yorkshire, cannot stand or walk independently but loves music and decided to challenge himself during lockdown to play 100 songs picked by his supporters.
His mastery of everything from Beethoven to Justin Bieber and Stevie Wonder became an internet hit as he got support from the likes of Gary Barlow, Marcus Rashford, Peter Andre, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Nigella Lawson, Martin Kemp, Jo Whiley and Johnny Vegas. Lennie’s initial target was just £750, but on Thursday he handed over more than £20,000 to his special school – Paces in Sheffield, which wants to build a new home and be the Yorkshire hub for conductive education.
The school said a new centre will allow more children with special needs, like Lennie, to be taught life-changing skills – such as sitting, standing, walking, speaking, communication and self-care. One of Lennie’s classmates at Paces is another inspirational fundraiser – “Captain” Tobias Weller, who last December became the youngest person on record to be included in the Honours list.
