A Dundee mother who launched a charity drive to provide toys to sick children across Scotland has said she believes her mission is complete.
Rosie Butler set up Fairy Box, a voluntary service to provide toys to children battling illness in hospitals throughout the country, after her daughter Amy was diagnosed with leukaemia.
After Amy’s condition deteriorated, Rosie desperately contacted the author of one of her daughter’s favourite fairytale stories.
Within a matter of days, Amy’s room was plastered in fairy art work and was packed with boxes of toys donated from throughout the world.
Such was the level of generosity, Rosie and Amy quickly decided to donate toys to other hospital-bound children.
Drop-off points were soon set up at hospitals throughout Scotland and as a result the Fairy Box project was born.
Rosie said: “It’ll be 10 years in March since we set up Fairy Box.
“Amy will be 21 in the summer and we’ve decided that it was time to let it go and move on.
“When we first started there wasn’t anything like Fairy Box. Children would get toys to play with while in hospital, but not to take home.
“Sometimes the aftermath of treatment can be just as upsetting as the treatment itself.
“I do think the perspective has changed a bit. People now realise that they can make a real difference.
“We have seen a change in how people support children who are very poorly.”
Rosie continued: “I remember from my own experience what it’s like to care for an ill child. It never leaves you.
“Amy was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was five.
“We got through her initial treatment but things got really difficult when Amy relapsed.
“Fairies had always been Amy’s thing so I wrote to the author of one of her favourite books to say that I had one very sick little girl who loved fairies.
“Within 48 hours I was papering Amy’s walls in fairy pictures. Word then spread and we started receiving gifts from American, Japan and Australia.
“Hence the story of Fairy Box was born.”
Although the days of Fairy Box have now ended, Rosie hopes her venture will lead to more people considering the emotional needs of sick children.
She said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to support so many children and their families, countless times, across Scotland.
“Fairy Box wouldn’t have been the success it became without the wholehearted support of medical and nursing professionals.
“I hope there’s a legacy there that people can build on.”