A Shankill teenager has donated over £1,300 worth of presents, personalised gifts and supplies to the Belfast Children's Hospital in order to say thank you for the care she received.
15-year-old Mia Gibson was admitted to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children for multiple weeks twice this year after becoming unwell.
She spent five weeks on the Allen Ward on her first stay and seven weeks on her second.
The Belfast Royal Academy student says that she developed close bonds with the staff and others at the hospital when she was there and after leaving set about raising funds in order to do something to say thank you to them for their care and support.
At Halloween, Mia started selling special packages of sweets and treats, with her initially thinking she would only sell around 50. However things quickly took off and she ended up selling 500 of them.
Then at Christmas she continued her fundraising efforts by selling hot chocolate cones and Reindeer food, which proved to be just as popular.
With the help of a number of other fundraising activities, Mia raised £1,350 which she used to buy presents for the children staying at the hospital and some of their parents, personalised gifts for the staff at the Allen Ward and emergency supplies for parents whose children may have to be admitted to the hospital on short notice.
Mia said: "When I was at the hospital I saw how hard everyone worked in order to care for me and the others who were there and when I left I wanted to be able to do something for them as a way of saying thank you.
"I started doing a fundraiser at Halloween selling sweet cones and had only bought enough supplies to make 50 of them, but by the end I managed to sell 500. Then at Christmas I sold around 200 hot chocolate cones and 300 pouches of reindeer food.
"I used the money that I raised in order to get presents for everyone at the Allen Ward and the hospital, which would allow them to have a bit of fun and relax.
"I was able to get a couple of tablets which children at the hospital will be able to use if they don't have their own, art supplies and other presents for the children there. I also focused on finding sensory gifts for young children to use.
"It was amazing dropping them all off at the hospital on Monday and seeing the staff and other patients again. I had some personalised gifts made for the staff on the Allen Ward and also got a few special presents for two babies and their mums who I became close with during my time there.
"After everything that they did for me while I was at the hospital I am just happy to be able to do something nice for them and I am very thankful to everyone who helped raise the donations."
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