A SEVEN-year-old girl from Rhos-on-Sea has raised roughly £300 for a Colwyn Bay charity after walking up Snowdon collecting funds with her father.

Aoife Lewis has, according to her father, Richard, long harboured a desire to help those less fortunate than her.

Together, they raised an admirable amount through donations from passers-by during their Snowdon walk carrying a bucket with a sign saying: ‘Put your money in the bucket, raising for the homeless’ in August.

A cheque will soon be given to The Kind Bay Initiative, a non-profit organisation tackling isolation and poor mental health by bringing people together at weekly gatherings, where food, clothes, entertainment and much more are provided.

North Wales Pioneer: Aoife with her bucket near the top of Snowdon. Photo: Richard LewisAoife with her bucket near the top of Snowdon. Photo: Richard Lewis

Richard said: “She first came up with this idea of taking over a derelict building on Elwy Road in Rhos-on-Sea, get the builders in, paint rainbows on it, put buckets outside and raise money for homeless people.

“This idea turned into: ‘Why don’t we walk up Snowdon and raise money from the passers-by?’ because there are loads of people walking up and down the mountain.

“We did that in August and didn’t expect to raise much, but it was so busy and everyone was so generous.

“People were digging into their pockets all day; there were constant expressions of gratitude as she went up and down the mountain, and we celebrated with a pizza afterwards.”

Though Aoife initially wanted to spend the money on food for homeless people, she and Richard decided that, given the substantial total amount of donations, it would be better served going directly to The Kind Bay Initiative.

Richard added that, because it is a charity near to them which carries out a lot of the work Aoife also tries to do, the money will definitely be going to a worthy cause.

He said: “She (Aoife) has got this desire to help people that are less fortunate than her, even though she’s only seven. The Kind Bay Initiative is a local charity that does that.

“It (Kind Bay Initiative) does a lot to help people in need and homeless people, and is run by volunteers themselves who put a lot of time and effort into helping these less fortunate people.”