Rathcoole schoolgirl Rocking Red for local children's charity

Abbie-Louise Hamilton, who is a pupil at Rathcoole Primary School, is raising funds for a charity which has helped her from an early age.

The eight-year-old, who was diagnosed with the heart condition, Long QT Syndrome, will be collecting sponsorship for Belfast-based charity, Children’s Heartbeat Trust. Since her diagnosis, the young girl has received a lot of help and support from the charity and she now wants to raise funds for them.

This week is Children’s Heart Week, with the whole of February being Heart Month. To mark this special occasion and to raise both money and awareness, Abbie-Louise has organised a number of fundraising events.

She has been wearing a red bobble in her hair to school over this week as part of the ‘Rock Red’ campaign, She has also been encouraging her friends and family to wear red items of clothing and to donate to the trust.

Tomorrow (Friday), will see Abbie-Louise wear the red charity T-shirt to her school disco at Rathcoole Primary School. She has urged her friends to support the ‘Rock Red’ campaign.

Another fundraising event will take place at the Hub Community Centre on the Shore Road in the coming weeks.

Speaking to the Times, her mum, Emma McCallister, explained how Long QT Syndrome has affected her daughter’s life.

“Abbie-Louise was diagnosed with the condition when she was only a few months old. She currently has to take medication every day and when she’s older she will have to get a defibrillator installed. She also can’t do PE at school or go swimming, so it really does affect her day-to-day life.”

Emma has praised her daughter for deciding to raise funds for the charity.

She said: “As a family we are all very proud of Abbie-Louise and her decision to raise funds for Children’s Heartbeat Trust.”

The family have set up a JustGiving page to raise funds for the charity. If you would like to make a donation, go to www.justgiving.com/s-Mccallister.