Ellie Watt from Wick helps spread the magic of Christmas by making over 160 shoeboxes to send to Romania
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Eight-year-old Ellie Watt, of Wick, has been busy making Christmas shoeboxes to send to Romania so children less fortunate than herself are not forgotten at this time of year.
At the beginning of the week she had made 167 boxes and planned to continue making more right up until Friday when the lorry transporting all the donations will be arriving in the town.
Ellie, who is a P4 pupil at Noss Primary School, was able to make a record number of boxes thanks to people donating items. At least eight items go in each box – a toothbrush, toothpaste, something warm, sweeties and age related gifts.
Young Ellie said she was delighted she was able to make so many, she had originally set a target of 56 and is very happy she smashed that figure and is on her way to completing three times the initial number. Last year she made 26 boxes.
When asked what she put in the packages she said: "We put a lot of warm things to wear and a lot of things to play with, like arts and crafts. I like it – I am happy that I have been helping out some kids."
Mum and dad, Angela and Steven Watt, are very proud of the amazing effort Ellie has put in. Since her mum, a local childminder, put a post on Facebook last Thursday more donations came in so the kind-hearted eight-year-old was able to continue with her task. Ellie was also "really happy" to receive over 70 comments about the fantastic job she was doing.
Her kindness, thoughtfulness and caring nature have been highlighted by those commenting and Ellie has also been described as being "inspirational" as well as being a "superstar".
Mum Angela said: "She wanted to make up her own boxes – the whole year through she has been talking about it. She is still making them."
She explained that her daughter had been planning her task for some time and puts half of her weekly pocket money into a bank for her shoeboxes. Ellie also saved other money that she got from friends and family throughout the year and even kept aside some of her own toys and clothes received as gifts for her birthday and Christmas.
When she's not busy packing and wrapping boxes, Ellie enjoys Highland dancing and hopes to get back to gymnastics next year. One day she would like to get the chance to go out to Romania and meet some of the children that she has managed to help.
Ellie's shoeboxes will be transported to southeastern Europe in time for Christmas along with over two tonnes of other items such as warm clothing, gathered by her mum and friend Angela Henderson. Two containers up beside Highland Workwear in the town's Airport Industrial Estate are already full of donations.
The cost of transportation is being covered by Gerald Henderson, of GMR Henderson, who supports various children's and animal charities in Romania.
