A big-hearted schoolgirl has been left “devastated” after a charity bucket beside her Christmas lights display went missing.
Lucy Stewart has raised thousands of pounds for The Archie Foundation to thank them for the support they given her over the years.
The 11-year-old was born with a rare condition tracheo-oesophageal fistula and oesophageal atresia, which can cause liquids or food can be aspirated or inhaled to end up in her lungs. As a result, she has been in and out of hospital with bouts of pneumonia, chest infections and a collapsed lung over the years.
Last year, her family raised more than £400 for Archie after festively decorating their home and putting a charity bucket out beside the display.
It was such a success that they decided to do it again this year – but their donation box vanished within just two days.
There Tuesday, gone Friday
The family home in Elgin has been elaborately decorated with lights, festive projections and statues and a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
There is a banner clearly showing that it is in aid of charity, leaving the family disappointed that someone might take it.
It has forced them to rethink how they do the display and have now set up a QR code that passers-by can scan, which will direct them straight to an online fundraising page Lucy has set up.
Mum Claire Stewart said: “She texted me asking if I had taken it to be dropped off because it had been there when she went to bed but not when she woke up.
“We set about looking for it to see if it had been blown away but we couldn’t find it – we don’t want to accuse someone of taking it, but we really hope it comes back.
“Lucy is always thinking about what she can do for others when we raised the £400 last Christmas she said we can go to Poundland and buy 400 presents for children to play with while they’re in the hospital.”
Even though the collection only began last week, a number of people had already made the trip to see it and make a donation.
Lynn Brooks, donations officer at the Archie Foundation said: “I realise that people everywhere are going through hard times, but this money would have gone towards helping people who really need it.
“For years, Lucy has been phenomenal in helping out with fundraising so she was devastated to find that the bucket had gone missing.
“I really hope the bucket is returned because any money raised is really needed to help parents and their children.”