Heroic 13-year-old girl delivers more than 4,000 Easter eggs to ill kids in hospitals over Easter
Jasmine Parker, 13, from Belfast, is continuing a seven-year tradition of handing out chocolate to sick children over Easter. Since starting in 2016, she has personally donated over 4,200 eggs which she has collected in her family home with the help of her community.
In the first year, Jasmine delivered 100 eggs with the help of her friends and family to the Royal Victoria Children’s Hospital in Belfast. Over the last few years her efforts have grown and she has now sent donations from all over the country.
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Hide AdHer proud mum, Maggie Parker, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, said: "She’s so kind-hearted, and just wants the children to enjoy Easter. It all began in a supermarket when she asked me if sick kids would get any eggs, and now we’ve delivered over 2,000 eggs.
"My house, and my mum’s house were completely covered in eggs. Towers of eggs are all ready to go for Easter. We’re just really proud of her, it’s an amazing thing to achieve at such a young age and just shows her kind heart. It means the world to the kids we visit too.’’
In January 2016, Jasmine asked her mum about how sick kids in hospital get eggs over the Easter holidays. Later that day, Jasmine, asked her mum to post on Facebook asking for donations after deciding she wanted to deliver chocolate to the local hospital.
Maggie, a mum-of-one, said: ‘’Within a few hours we were already getting people knocking at the door with eggs, ‘I couldn’t believe it. There was so much support immediately. ‘When Jessica’s dad came home from work he was shocked to see 100 eggs to say the least.’’
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Hide AdA day later, Maggie and her husband, Jay Parker, 35, a health and safety manager, took their daughter to the Children’s Royal Victoria Hospital and handed over the eggs to the nurses at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. The following year, in 2017, the family collected over 200 eggs and then 400 in 2018 - They distributed the eggs to both the Royal Victoria’s Children’s Hospital and the Ulster Hospital, in Belfast.
In 2019, Jay offered his white van for transportation after collecting 700 eggs through donations and fundraising. In 2022, the family promoted their endeavours on social media and managed to collect 1,618 Easter eggs - which were delivered to almost every children’s hospital in Northern Ireland.
This year, 2023, Jasmine and Maggie have shattered their record and gathered over 2,000 eggs which they started delivering on Easter morning. Jasmine, 13, said: "Easter is for everyone. Every child should enjoy it. I want to keep doing this every year!"
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