Kind-hearted Portrush girl's charity sea dip for Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust in memory of her daddy

Eleven-year-old Macy Hanson Henderson has organised the fundraising dip, which will take place at the East Strand beach, to raise funds for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust in memory of “my Daddy Aaron (Hendy), who passed away in Spain in May 2018 through tragic circumstances.

"My reasons for choosing the Kevin Bell Repatriation charity is because they brought my daddy back home to me and this is my way of saying thank you to them.”

Brave Macy’s mum Kim said: “Myself and Macy go along and support a family friend every New Year’s Day at a swim for a charity called SANDS.

"Macy has said this last two years that she would like to do it, too. So we discussed the charities that she would maybe like to do it for, for example, SANDS, N.I. Smile.

"I happened to mention to Macy how special the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust is to me and explained what they do and how they had helped us when her daddy passed away in Spain.”

The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust aims to alleviate the financial hardship of bereaved families repatriating the body (bodies) of loved one(s) who have died abroad in sudden or tragic circumstances back to Ireland.

Despite being busy preparing for her transfer test, Millstrand Primary School pupil Macy has organised a JustGiving page to raise funds for the Trust, setting herself a target of £1,000.

The appeal has already passed the £400 in just two days with some donors commenting: “What an amazing thing to do Macy” and “Well done Macy, your Daddy will be looking down so proud”.

Kim added: “I cannot explain to you how proud I am of this girl. For only age 11, she has such a mature head on her shoulders and such a class sense of humour – especially when she is still grieving, too.”

To donate to kind-hearted Macy’s appeal, just go to JustGiving and search ‘Macy’s fundraiser for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust’.

Good luck, Macy!