Katie donates half her Xmas money

Katie donates half her Xmas money

COMPLETELY unprompted, a 10-year-old has donated £100 of her Christmas money to the Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation.

Katie Lloyd said she was inspired by her mum Cathy, who recently donated over £5,000 to support the charity’s flat in Southampton, Aggie’s Burrow.

The flat is used as a home-away-from-home by parents of a premature or very unwell baby who needs treatment at Southampton hospital.

Mum Cathy explained that as she approached her 50th birthday, friends and family were asking what she wanted for gift ideas.

‘I realised that I didn’t want anything,’ she said.

‘We had raised funds for PBBF previously when Katie and I did a charity haircut.

‘The PBBF is very close to our hearts because of Aggie’s Burrow.

‘Katie had been best friends with Aggie Nicolle along with their friend Holly since they were six months old – we called them the three amigos.

‘Sadly, Aggie passed away from cancer exactly four years ago. We visited the PBBF flat when Aggie was staying there and saw how much of a difference it made to her family.

‘Aggie was such an inspiration to our family, always smiling despite the pain she must have been in.’

Cathy’s aim was to raise £5,000 by 50 supporters in aid of her 50th.

She had the support of family and friends and even received donations from people she had never met.

‘I had just started my own compliance consultancy business and decided to donate the fee income of £3,500 generated to help towards my target.

‘I raised £5,155 from 51 supporters thanks to the generous donations,’ she said.

Completely unprompted, 10-year-old Katie said she would like to donate half of the £200 she had been given by family members at Christmas to Aggie’s Burrow as she did not want anyone else to have to go through what Aggie did.

‘We will never forget Aggie and will continue to support PBBF and Aggie’s Burrow,’ she said.

Co-founder of the PPBF Jo Priaulx said the flat was named after the ‘beautiful and courageous Aggie Nicolle’.

‘We’re honoured that Aggie’s name lives on within our charity [and] the apartment offers comfort to families during immensely difficult times.

‘Thank you so much to the girls for supporting this.’

Bailiwick of Guernsey families of premature babies who require special care, or seriously ill children suffering a life-threatening condition, can stay at Aggie’s Burrow and the charity’s second flat, Isaac’s Pad, free of charge in comfort and privacy. The flats are a short walk from Southampton Hospital.

The PPBF is continually raising funds for the huge annual running costs of the properties, which is around £30,000 a year including essential upkeep and maintenance.