Fife girl aiming to raise £1000 for charity

Newcastle Primary School pupil Darcy McGuire’s final wish is to make a huge success of the event, and raise £1000 for CHAS which has been supporting her.

The family friendly event, which is expected to attract more than 200 people from the Glenrothes community will be attended by the local fire brigade and police service and there will be a bouncy castle, tombolo, glitter and henna tattoo stations and a cake ‘n’ candy stool.

Darcy was diagnosed with chordoma in January this year – a rare form of bone cancer that only effects one in every 20 million children every year. Following the terminal diagnosis, the family were referred to Rachel House children’s hospice in Kinross (part of CHAS) for palliative care.

Supported by Rachel House, Darcy and her family began working through her bucket list so they could pack as much as possible into her short life and create precious memories together, which first gave her the idea to fundraise for CHAS.

The list, which has given her the opportunity to meet elephants and travel in a limo to see her favourite popstar, Shawn Mendes in Glasgow, also included raising £100 for CHAS by offering hand massages and manicures to staff, volunteers and families at the hospice. Smashing that target by raising £120 gave Darcy the ‘fundraising bug’.

Carol Donald, Darcy’s mum, said: “It is Darcy’s final wish to make the fête a huge success and we want to welcome everyone to come along and help her fulfil her dream. We have set a fundraising target of £1,000 but we’ve already raised over £600 before the fête has even opened! The money will be donated to CHAS, who have helped support my family so much through the most difficult time imaginable. I’m also hoping that the fête will raise awareness of chordoma, which is extremely rare in children.”

CHAS is the only charity in Scotland that provides hospice services for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions. The national charity offers palliative care and respite for the whole family via its two hospices, Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch, and via its CHAS at Home service and Diana Children’s Nurse, which supports families in their own homes and in clinical settings across the whole of Scotland.

The Fete takes place at Newcastle Primary School, 196 Muirfield Drive, Glenrothes, KY6 2PX from 12 to 4pm. Entry is free and all are welcome.