£2k funding boost for Laila’s legacy

Devoted mum Maya McCormack has thanked people across the area who have raised more than £2,000 for a charity set up in memory of her daughter.
Maya McCormack at the Kirkby Road nursery.Maya McCormack at the Kirkby Road nursery.
Maya McCormack at the Kirkby Road nursery.

Mrs McCormack and her husband Steve set up the Laila Milly Foundation after the tot was diagnosed with Aicardi Syndrome.

Laila died the day before her first birthday but the couple carried on with their plans to build a day nursery in Hemsworth for children with serious and complex illnesses.

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It opened last September and now, due to increasing demand, the couple hope to open the Kirkby Road facility full-time.

Now, Natwest Bank’s Pontefract and Leeds branches has named the foundation as its charity of the year.

Mrs McCormack, 33, said: “We’ve had £1,300 from Natwest already and the partnership runs until the end of the year.

“We can’t thank people enough for their support and fantastic fundraising efforts.

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“It means an awful lot to us. We’ve been open almost a year and we’re getting more and more families coming down each week.”

The foundation also received £900 from the Darrington Village Field Trust which were the proceeds of the village’s Feast and Fair Five Mile Run.

Mrs McCormack said: “For the last two or three weeks we have been getting new people coming down to the nursery every week.

“All of the sessions are full so our next aim is to open the nursery full-time.

“Sometimes it’s still sinking in that we are actually doing what we set out to achieve.

“I’m really happy with how it’s going.”