A north schoolgirl who has been in and out of hospital since she was a baby has raised £10,000 for the charity which cheered her up during her stays.
Dawn Cowie, of Helmsdale, held a fundraiser earlier this year to thank the Archie Foundation for the work they do to improve children’s lives during their hospital visits.
The 17-year-old is delighted her auction and race night raised such a huge sum, as there are only 800 people in her village.
She said: “There are only 800 people in my village so to raise £10,000 is unreal. The money is going to be used to help redo the hospital in Aberdeen, and I volunteer in Inverness so that is my contribution there.
“Archie is so important to children because it makes such a huge difference to the stay and quality of your life in the hospital.”
Dawn knows all too well what it is like to be stuck in hospital, as she has been in and out of Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and Raigmore Hospital in Inverness since she was born.
The Golspie High School pupil was born with an undeveloped kidney, which was removed when she was nine months old, but has since had recurring infections with her remaining one.
Last summer she had two operations to stop the infections and was helped by the Archie pain nurse during her three-week recovery.
As a way of saying thanks, she organised an Archie auction and race night in the Bunillidh social club in Helmsdale in February and more than 130 people turned up to the event.
She raised an impressive £9,993 and for good measure her parents donated an extra £7 to make the nice round figure.
Since finishing her exams two weeks ago, Dawn has also been volunteering at the Archie office at Raigmore Hospital, and she plans to keep working there throughout the summer months.
Dawn added: “When I was in hospital last year and was not in so much pain, I was able to see how much of a difference they made for other children. And if it wasn’t for the accommodation at the hospital in Aberdeen, my parents would not have been able to stay with me.”