Fundraising success for tragic Kacey

Thousands of pounds have been raised in memory of a Aberdeen girl who died while attending an after-school club.

Kacey Seivwright, 6, took ill last week, prompting an outpouring of support from the community and those who knew her.

Friends of her family hope to raise money to enable the purchase of defibrillators for schools and youth facilities.

And Tullos School, at which she was a pupil, is seeking help to create a memorial flower wall, which will take shape out of recyclable materials.

Local football clubs with links to the youngster have paid their own tributes.

Last night almost £14,000 had already been raised for the defibrillator cause.

Afundraiser which was launched to buy defibrillators in memory of a little Aberdeen girl who died at an after-school club on Monday has made over £14,000 in two days.

Kacey Seivwright, 6, was attending an after-school club when she became ill and died, leading to shock and tributes from across the local community.

The Cove-based Grampian Girls Football Club, which is attended by Kacey’s elder sister Kelsey, held a minute’s silence before their game on Friday.

In a Facebook post, the team wrote that Kacey “was her sister’s number one fan and could be seen most weekends cheering on her sister and the team”.

Kincorth AFC also held a minute’s silence before their game yesterday, as Kacey’s father is a close friend of co-manager Andrew Ewen.

In her memory, a fundraiser was started by Seivwright family friend Lauren Boylan, and it has already far exceeded its initial £10,000 target.

In a social media post announcing the effort, she said: “On behalf of Raymond, Michelle and family we are looking to raise as much funds as possible to ensure all local kids’ clubs and schools have access to their own defibrillators.”

Among those supporting the effort is Stonehaven business All Round Chocolate, which is conducting a raffle and donating all the money to the campaign.

Owner Jamie Russo said: “Nothing that anyone does is going to bring back their little girl, but to be able to do something and hopefully save some lives from raising this money and getting these bits of equipment put into clubs and schools in Kacey’s memory, that would be amazing.

“That’s what they (her family) can take away from it, that they’ve been able to save someone else’s life.”

The company is also trying to rally round other Stonehaven businesses to offer an even more extensive raffle, with the aim of contributing more money to the cause.

A memorial flower wall is being planned at Tullos School, with decorations crafted from plastic bottles, bags, cups and plates donated by the local community.

A message sent out by the school to members of its community said: “Please don’t care about the colour as we will be spray painting them her favourite colour along with the school colours.

“We are hoping that every child in the school will make at least one flower for her.”

Cardboard boxes will be left outside the school’s front gates from today to collect the items, which can be any size but should be clean.

Defibrillators are an increasingly common site at businesses and leisure facilities across Scotland.

In recent years they have been used hundreds of times in the north-east – with community devices credited with saving the lives of 20 people across the north and north-east in 2018-19.

Their availability has rapidly increased since then, thanks to individuals and groups such the Moray charity Keiran’s Legacy.

Sandra and Gordon McKandie set up the cause following the death of their 16-year-old son Keiran in March 2016.

The parents have devoted the years since to funding defibrillators for groups and communities, and working to ensure they are present in police and other emergency vehicles.

The McKandies also regularly visit schools to stress the importance of the devices and of knowing how to use them.

Defibrillators give a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest. In 2018-19, they were used successfully in 50% of cases across the north and north-east.

The fundraiser can be found by searching for Kacey Seivwright on the GoFundMe website.

TRIBUTES: Six-year-old Kacey Seivwright was attending a club at Tullos School, in Aberdeen, when she became ill and died.