Greenvale Hotel tragedy victim’s ‘wonderful legacy’ is celebrated
Family’s fundraising efforts in memory of Lauren give eight charities a major boost
THE family of Lauren Bullock, who lost her life in the Greenvale Hotel tragedy two years ago, have collected over £20,000 for local charities in her memory.
It came as the families of Lauren, Morgan Barnard (17) and Connor Currie (16) marked the anniversary of the incident in which they died in a crush as they queued to get into a St Patrick’s Night disco in Cookstown.
The Bullock family have now raised £21,272, some of which will be used by Children in Crossfire to build a classroom in Tanzania.
Speaking to the Tyrone Courier, Lauren’s mother Mary said: “Lauren was such a bright, beautiful and vibrant daughter. She is so missed by us her parents, brothers Shane and Ryan, family members and friends.”
A charity walk up Cuilcagh Mountain on the Fermanagh-cavan border was unable to take place because of coronavirus restrictions and people instead donated to a fundraising page.
Mrs Bullock said Lauren, who was a student at St Patrick’s College in Dungannon, enjoyed taking part in projects and helping others, making a difference to their lives.
In Year 13 she was moved by the words of Children in Crossfire founder Richard Moore, who was blinded as a young boy by a British Army rubber bullet.
It led the Bullock family to make a donation of £5,886 to the charity to contribute to its work supporting children caught up in violence.
The charity said: “This wonderful girl’s legacy will include better opportunities in education for young children growing up in poverty.”
A donation of £5,886 was made to childhood cancer charity Angel Wishes to represent Lauren’s love for children.
And donations of £2,500 each were made to Sperrinview special school in Dungannon, St Vincent de Paul in the town, and to the Simon Community.
A further £1,000 was given to the Spirit of Paul Mcgirr Foundation to support educational projects in Zambia. And £500 each went to the Kinship to Strangers charity in Dungannon and Anam Cara, which supports bereaved parents.
The family recently met representatives of the eight charities in the Garden of Hope at Lauren’s school, which was created by friends in her memory.
“This money is a symbol of that hope, that in our darkest days, we hope for God’s grace of better days ahead,” said Mrs Bullock.
“We have been so grateful for the help and support we have received in the days since we lost Lauren. Many days in the aftermath we felt very hopeless.”
She thanked everyone who supported the fundraising efforts.
“Without your support we would not have managed our darkest days,” she added.