Jamie Helps Hospice
It took Jamie McConnell about a year to save $100 of her pocket money and she decided to give it up to charity.
The 9-year-old Parnell District School pupil earns $5 a week from her parents for doing chores around the house.
It was her granddad who inspired her to donate it to the Mercy Hospice shop in Ellerslie.
"We were just talking, me and my granddad, and he told me he was fixing some chairs to give to hospice. I asked him what that was and he said they help people and that's why we should help them too. I went home and I put my money in a secret place so no-one could find it because I thought I should give it to charity."
Guss Pretscherer restores old furniture for sale at the Mercy Hospice shop and says he was amazed by his granddaughter's giving spirit.
"I had no idea she was doing it. I was delighted when she came to me with this handwritten envelope and it said ‘Jamie's Money'. She asked me if I could drop it into the shop because she had to go to school. I couldn't be happier, she's amazing."
Jamie wants to keep giving as much as she can to charity.
"It feels really good because I feel like I'm making someone else's life happier."
Mercy Hospice Auckland provides a range of specialist community palliative care and hospice services for people facing life limiting illnesses.
The Ellerslie shop is one of six run by the hospice in Auckland.
Store manager Amanda Davies says she was moved by Jamie's donation.
"It was such a sweet gesture. It just shows that there is a new generation of supporters coming through who are willing to give it up for charity. It's great to see. We're very grateful for it."
Aucklanders have been generously clearing out their wardrobes for the hospice Give It Up campaign. Now it's time to help hospice again by popping in to see all the new items for sale. Customers who spend $20 on clothing in one of the six Mercy Hospice stores in Auckland between September 17 and 30 go in the draw to win a $5000 Trelise Cooper wardrobe.
East & Bays Courier (September 19, 2012)
Writer: Esther Lauaki. Photo: Esther Lauaki.