Fife grandad’s Facebook appeal sparks huge fundraiser for school pupils

George Eggo’s grandson, Arran, attends John Fergus School in Glenrothes. His donation will help the school move and upgrade its sensory room.

The school has been fundraising over the last few years and George’s impressive contribution means that work will hopefully begin over the summer holidays.

Upgrades to the room have been a long-term project, but Covid delayed significant work being carried out. Fundraising for this round of renovations took place as far back as March 2020, when a gig netted £3800.

However, lockdown put everything on hold until November 2021 when a further £3440 was raised.

But more was needed to hit the target, and thanks to a meeting between the school’s headteacher, Pamela Kirkum, and George they were able to raise more.

What started out as a £500 donation soon spiralled into thousands of pounds.

Pamela explained “A few weeks ago, George contacted me to ask if there is anything we were fundraising for as he wanted to donate, and I explained the situation to him.

“He was planning on raising £500 through his Facebook page and it snowballed to a total of £4050, with people donating from all over the UK! It was very exciting hearing the updates as the total kept rising.

“George regularly fundraises for local causes and has donated Christmas selection boxes for every child to us in the past”.

His social media post sparked a flurry of activity and help from across Scotland.

He said: “I really want to thank the people who gave me anything. I just really appreciate everything that people have done for me and the school.

“I thought this year, I’d try and raise £500 for John Fergus for things they usually wouldn’t buy. A couple of years ago I donated £200 for selection boxes and they were jumping through hoops, so I thought that must mean an awful lot to them.”

George, who lives in Dunfermline, said the response to his fundraiser went “absolutely haywire” after posting it online, with £500 raised within four hours.

He said: “I had all these different people doing different things for me. There was a woman, Pauline Fraser, who I’ve only met once who works at Tynecastle, home of Hearts FC. She got in touch to ask if I wouldn’t mind if she spoke to Gary Locke to see if she could get an autographed ball.”.

The Hearts legend provided the appeal with not one, but two, which were raffled off, resulting in £642 being raised.

However, there has been help from other quarters as well. The Widows Sons Motorcycle Club donated £200, adding to the community spirit feel. Something that George was keen to praise.

He said: “These people should have their names in lights.”

George, who spent much of his life working in the oil and gas industry around the UK, has been a keen fundraiser for a number of local causes over a number of years. However, he said that having just turned 65, this would be his final fundraising effort before a well-deserved retirement.