Coleraine’s Lily raises some ‘dough’ for BHF

Lily Armstrong, 11, put her spare time during lockdown to good use by baking mouth-watering treats for her neighbours and school pals to raise £170 for the leading research charity. Lily chose the local charity as her father Nigel suffered a heart attack in September, 2018, at the age of 38.

The Culcrow Primary School pupil said: “My dad had a heart attack nearly two years ago and everyone was raising money for the NHS but my dad explained that other charities still need our help during Covid.

“My dad set me a target to raise £100 so I started by putting out my flyers to tell people what I was doing. On the flyer there was a barcode so we didn’t have to exchange money. I enjoy baking and it was a good distraction during lockdown. I was baking from around 10am to lunchtime and then I would do my deliveries in the evening time.

“My twin sister Sine helped me and she loved icing the cupcakes. Some neighbours and people from my school ordered two or three times and I took around 28 orders altogether. I baked banana bread, muffins, chocolate cakes and brownies,” she explained.

“My favourite to eat are the brownies. I tweaked my brownies with chocolate chips to make them really gooey so I think they’re my favourite to eat.”

Lily added: “I couldn’t believe that I beat dad’s target and raised £170.”

Lily’s dad Nigel said: “Lily loves baking and when she mentioned she wanted to bake for charity I was keen that it would be for the BHF NI for two reasons; my personal connection with the BHF NI and I’m also aware that during this difficult time many charities have lost income from their fundraising events.

“I’m extremely proud of Lily’s efforts and not forgetting her twin sister Sine who helped with taking orders and delivering. Both took it very seriously and worked hard. To be honest I set the target as a stretch and after she had started I thought I had set it too high but she proved me wrong! The biggest compliment was repeat orders and referrals.”

Head of BHF NI Fearghal McKinney heaped praise on Lily’s efforts.

He said: “Our fundraisers are the lifeblood of our organisation, without them we wouldn’t be able to fund vital research that helps save and improve local lives.

“We’re particularly grateful to Lily and her family for choosing BHF NI to raise funds during lockdown. It’s a challenging time for charities like ours as Covid-19 has devastated our income. The BHF is anticipating that without support its annual research budget could be cut from £100 million to around £50 million and that it could take years for this funding to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“We appreciate the fundraising efforts from supporters such as Lily and her family it all helps to get us one step closer to our ultimate goal of beating heartbreak forever.”

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