Charlottetown's Isabella Baker felt 'really great' paying for hospital parking

A seven-year-old Charlottetown girl says it warmed her heart to spread some holiday cheer in a hospital parking lot just before Christmas.

And her family says they never expected the attention it has garnered.

Two days before Christmas, some people parked at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital returned to their cars to find a ziplock bag containing $1.50 for parking and a holiday greeting.

Security guards said they had seen a young girl in the parking lot, and shortly after a CBC story, Emily Baker confirmed it was her daughter, Isabella.

"We're really proud of her, she's an awesome kid," said Emily.

Isabella wanted to help people who might not have enough to cover parking to visit relatives in hospital.

"Lots of people need lots of help," she said. "People have to see their sick families and they shouldn't have to pay to see their sick families."

Isabella got the idea after finding out her grandmother had to pay for parking while visiting her great-grandfather in hospital.

"She was like, 'You have to pay to go there? I want to make sure she has enough money for Christmas,'" said Emily. "She said, 'How can we help other people not have to pay?'"

Her mother gaveher the money, enough for about 30 cars, and Isabella wrote a note wishing the people a merry Christmas.

In the parking lot, they looked for cars with disability stickers or children's car seats. "It made my heart feel really good, really, really, really good," Isabella said.

She's inspired people from the Island and beyond this Christmas, and none more so than her mother.

"It was a lot of fun, she was really excited," said Emily. "It was nice to see her getting excited about helping other people, when so much of the excitement now comes from opening their own presents."

Isabella says she's ready to do something like this again.

At just seven years old, she's already come up with a Christmas gift no-one had thought of before.