He was the highest fundraiser in Tasmania for the past two years, and according to mum Bernadette Savy, that’s not surprising. One of Declan’s close family members has multiple sclerosis, and many of the donations come from relatives who have seen the devastating impact of the illness first-hand.

“It’s his dad’s cousin, but his dad and him were more like brothers and his son is about the same age as Declan, so they’ve sort of grown up together,” she said. 

“Declan has seen a big change in him over the last six to twelve months. It’s made it something that he can understand, and now that he’s seen it directly affecting someone he’s been a lot more keen [to participate in the readathon] this year.”

Not that he needs an excuse to read. Bernadette said Declan is a keen bookworm. His favourite audience is his five-year-old sister, who he treats to tales from Star Wars and Andy Griffiths. 

“She doesn’t have much interest in those, but he’ll read her books to her as well,” said Bernadette. “It’s helped her learn to read.”

The MS Readathon has been running for 40 years, and involves kids reading as many books as they can throughout August. Friends, family, and community members can give them a one-off donation or sponsor them per book. To chip in to Declan’s efforts and help raise money for the fight against MS, go to www.msreadathon.org.au/fundraisers/DeclanEvans.