This 12-year-old amateur carpenter went from pariah to celebrity in less than a week. Since then, he has raised over €300,000 for one of his creations. An amount that he intends to donate to an association.
Gabriel Clark is English, he is 12 years old, and since he received the machine from his grandfather at the age of 4, he has been learning and practicing carpentry on his own. “I have always had a real passion for wood and I taught myself everything I know”, proudly declares the young boy. Alas, this craze arouses the sneers of his school friends, who in particular make fun of his deserted Instagram account. Richard Clark, he no longer supports the ostracism against his son. So on March 25this TV director decides to invite his 20,000 Twitter followers to support his son.
“Dear friends, I’m asking you a little favor. I have a 12 year old who loves working with wood. He spends hours on his instruments making bowls and cutting boards which he sells to buy himself a MTB. So I was wondering if any of you would like to give him a hand and follow him on his Instagram profile clarkie_woodwork. It would make him happy. Thanks in advance and feel free to retweet! “
He received messages of encouragement from stars like JK Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter
The paternal message moves his community, which decides to give him visibility. Within 48 hours, Gabriel’s Instagram account grew from 6 to 227,000 subscribers and the young boy received 20,000 orders for his handmade creations! Victim of his success, Gabriel does not have the means to honor so many orders. How to do ? “I decided to make only one special object and to offer it as a prize for a lottery aimed at raising funds for Save the Children Ukraine”, explains our young craftsman, who immediately creates a pretty bowl in beech wood surrounded by a blue and a yellow band, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
With his father, he opens a page on Just Giving (a social platform for online donations) and invites his subscribers to participate to try to win the bowl in the draw. The goal? Collect €6,000. But, like what happened for our wood lover on Instagram, donations are pouring in and reaching ten times the amount hoped for, from April 4! The English media seized on the subject, Gabriel is invited everywhere and he even receives messages of encouragement from stars like JK Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter. “I’m so proud of him,” slips Richard, moved.
“My dad’s tweet changed my life. The solidarity movement it sparked is crazy”
On April 16, there was €180,000 in the pot! The draw took place on April 17 and as Gabriel says, “the blue and yellow bowl has changed houses”. The father and son nevertheless decided to keep the fundraiser open a little longer, with many netizens still wanting to donate.
“My father’s tweet changed my life. The movement of solidarity it caused is crazy. I can’t believe it,” says the young boy. Over €300,000 was raised and Gabriel is as happy as he is proud. His Instagram account (hacked for a few days by the Russians last April) is followed by 230,000 followers. And no one makes fun of his passion anymore.