Former teacher’s pink balloon tattoo for Saffie

ATEACHER who taught Saffie Rose Roussos at Tarleton Community primary school is raising money for the school and her classmates.

After the tragic terror attack at the Manchester arena on May 22, in which eightyear-old Saffie was the youngest victim, Andy Quigley was impressed with how the country reacted to such a terrible event.

People have been showing their longlasting support by getting the ‘Manchester Bee’ tattoo, from which tattooists are giving the proceeds to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund in aid of the families of the victims.

Andy Quigley, 26, who taught SaffieRose’s class for one year, has taken inspiration from this.

The teacher plans to get a tattoo of a pink balloon on his body to raise money for either a memorial for Saffie’s school, or for a fun day out for her class mates.

On his JustGiving page, Andy said: “I had the great pleasure of teaching Saffie Rose’s class for a year. Tarleton Community Primary is a lovely school and all of the kids in the class were so likeable.

“As you can imagine I, along with the whole school community, was shocked and saddened by the events on May 22 and struggled to believe her loss as being real for a few days.

“The days and weeks that followed the attack saw the local community come together in fantastic spirit, covering the area in pink and yellow bows and balloons in support to everyone affected.

“This has inspired me to do something similar, with a feel a little closer to home. I have decided to get a tattoo of a pink balloon and raise funds for the school.

“We have decided the money shall be used for one of two things; either to go towards a memorial at the school if the family want one, or towards a day out for the children in her class who have had to endure a very difficult few months.”

The target amount on the fundraising page is £500, but after being live for less than one week, £230 has already been raised.

The end date for fundraising is August 18 and that is likely to be the date that the former Tarleton Community primary school pupil will be getting inked.

The plans for this fundraiser came after it was announced that Saffie’s funeral was set to be held at Manchester Cathedral yesterday afternoon, July 26.

If you would like to give a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/andyquigley