A MUM whose parking ticket was paid off by a stranger has raised over £10,000 for charity in just three days.
Mairi Holden was forced to park illegally outside the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh after rushing her four-year-old to hospital last Wednesday.
The 35-year-old had to stay overnight with her son, Oscar, who was finding it extremely difficult to breathe.
When she returned to her car the next day she found a parking ticket on the screen and a letter from a kind passer-by with £25 enclosed.
She has since set up a JustGiving page to raise money for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation – and has already had over £10,000 donations from around the UK.
Mairi started by doubling the £25 that she was left by the unidentified stranger, and decided to see how much she could raise for the charity.
She described the response so far as “mind-blowing” and thanked the “wonderful people” who were donating out of their own pocket.
On her social media page, she shared a link to the fundraiser and wrote: “£10,000 and still rising. This is just mind-blowing.
“With 709 people from across the world each performing their own random act of kindness, this has been raised in 72 hours.
“Not only that, but this will carry on forever with the families of children who are helped with this increasing amount.
“More children’s lives will be saved, more children helped, and more happy, grateful people as a result.
“Thank you for all your kind words and messages. We should all be proud of ourselves for making this happen.”
Donations on the page range from £5 to £250, with many people saying the story had inspired them to perform small acts of kindness.
One man, named Paul, wrote: “I love it when a simple gesture of goodwill spreads like ripples in a pond. God bless.”
An anonymous donator said: “What a great story. Restores one’s faith in human nature.”
Another added: “This has just made me cry. Amazing how a little bit of thoughtfulness has such a massive, far-reaching effect. Just as things should be.”
The mysterious stranger who paid off Mairi’s ticket is still to be identified, and the mother-of-one has vowed to appeal the fine with the council.
Mairi believes the person may be elderly, due to their handwriting, but has so far been unable to track them down.
