The family of a girl who died from a rare genetic condition have raised nearly £8,000 in her memory over just two weeks.
Eve Hayes was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, a neurological disorder which affects brain development, in 2002, but lost her battle against it at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital in September.
Her parents, Louise Park and Gary Hayes, set up a memory tree in the city’s Trinity Centre to raise money for the hospital’s charity, The ARCHIE Foundation over Christmas.
Shoppers were invited to buy small paper stars and leave a message on them honouring a loved one, which were then used to decorate the tree.
The tree stayed on display in the shopping centre until it was taken down yesterday and the couple revealed that a grand total of £7,900 had been raised.
Ms Park said: “This was our first Christmas without Eve and it had only been a few months since then.
“It started off as an idea to raise money for a charity which we had benefited from a lot, and to be a distraction because we knew Christmas was going to be difficult.
“But it turned into something special.
“People seemed to really take it on board.
“It was nice to hear people’s stories and know that you aren’t the only one missing someone at Christmas.”
Ms Park and Mr Hayes, of Aberdeen, were also invited to sell stars at Tesco Danestone as they toiled over just three weeks to bring in as much as they could.
“To have raised that amount of money is way more than we could have imagined,” Ms Park added.
