Most 13-year-old girls would’ve spend a scorching summer’s weekend spending time with friends, or lounging in the garden.
But for Tia Hutchinson, a teenager from Gorleston, the past weekend marked the end of a long fundraising campaign to raise vital funds for a charity close to her heart.
Tia’s youngest sibling Toby, who turns one in August, has recently been diagnosed with epilepsy, after suffering a number of serious fits.
So his sister has taken it upon herself to raise as much money as she can for the Young Epilepsy charity, as well as the Ambulance Service.
Mum Lisa Hutchinson explained: “She held a raffle and had 1,000 tickets. We told her it’d raise £100 each for her charities, but she wanted to do more. So we bought her another book of tickets, and she sold all of those too and raised £200 for each.”
Mrs Hutchinson, 36, said: “We held it in our back garden and she streamed it live on her facebook page. We had raffle prizes like a spa day for two donated, and a £50 photography voucher.”
Tia also runs her own charity business, Tia’s Treasures, and hand makes jewellery with the sales going to charity.
Mrs Hutchinson, who like all her family was born and bred in Norfolk, continued: “It started when her best friend was diagnosed with a form of cancer, and she just wanted to do anything she could to help.
“Then when Toby was diagnosed she wanted to fundraise for an alarm to go in his cot in case he had a fit. But people don’t realise how dangerous epilepsy can be. For her it’s as much about raising awareness of the dangers of epilepsy, as the money itself.”
Mrs Hutchinson, a mother-of-six, said: “This started in 2011, but as she’s got older she’s wanted to take on more of the responsibility. I was worried when she asked me for a facebook page, but I can see what she’s doing and I know she’s doing it for a good cause.
“All of her brothers take part. The younger ones helped with the raffle listings and her older brother Alex had a monkey costume on for the raffle event.”
To read more about Tia’s Treasures, visit her website.
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