A real-life Grinch has put aside her loathing of Christmas to collect a staggering three tonnes of food to ensure Fifers won’t go hungry over the festive holidays.
Dunfermline mum-of-two Caroline Behaghel de Bueren has proved that the popular Christmas character, famously portrayed on screen by Jim Carrey, does indeed have a kind streak after hatching a plan to help those struggling.
The 35-year-old wanted to carry on the efforts made by the superheroes and costume-clad characters who ran through their local communities during the lockdown. Their efforts resulted in thousands of pounds being raised for children’s charities.
Little did Caroline know her idea to dress up as the Grinch to ‘steal’ food would be a hit.
In just three weeks of pounding the local streets collecting donations left out by residents, Caroline, with the help of her fellow superhero friend, Carolann ‘Wonder Woman’ Fraser, have managed to collect over three tonnes of food.
The sheer volume of donations meant Caroline had to call in help from friends and family with extra cars to help collect the amount of food. The amount garnered filled the entire living room of her home.
And Caroline, complete with Grinch costume, still managed to scare a few unsuspecting locals by staring through a few windows on her rounds.
“The amount of support from the public has been overwhelming and way beyond anything I could have possibly expected,” said Caroline, who was behind the Darth Vader and T-Rex costumes during the summer superhero antics.
“I initially planned to make one collection a week but the interest was so high I ended up putting a route map together and leafleting the local community.
“I even dress up my two dogs as reindeers and with the help of my Wonder Woman pal, Carolann, set about collecting donations.
“We were often met by kids dressed up in their own Grinch costumes and some parents even got us to tap on the windows as their children were watching the film only to see a real Grinch staring back at them.”
On the busiest day, Caroline and her supporters collected almost a tonne of food as word that the Grinch was in town spread.
“It took us 10 hours that day to collect the donations it was so busy the food filled the whole of my living room,” said Caroline.
The incredible effort has been warmly welcomed by volunteers at Dunfermline Foodbank and community support charity SHIELD.
“We’ve received almost a tonne of food which is a record amount to come from a single donor and is an incredible achievement,” said Sandra Beveridge, project manager for Dunfermline Foodbank.
“Sadly we now have more people than ever needing support so Caroline’s efforts will make a huge difference to many people’s Christmas.”
