THE owner of a Dumbarton cafe is raising money for her “larger than life” employee who passed away unexpectedly last month.

Helen Mackenzie, owner of Scruples in Wallace Street, started up the online fund-raiser for her colleague Christine Rogers, from Alexandria, who died after suffering a stroke.

Helen, who owns Scruples, told the Reporter: “She had been working with us for nearly 20 years. We were a close-knit team.

"We had the same staff for years and Christine was a key part of our team so it was a huge shock to hear of her passing.

“She was larger than life. She knew everybody and all their orders.

"The customers didn’t have to ask for anything as with Christine it was usually in front of them and the banter that went with it.

“She played such a key role in the community. She knew everybody wherever she went and would always put others before herself.”

Helen shared some of her favourite memories of Christine whilst working in the shop.

She added: “The shop is certainly a lot quieter now, as she would be shouting to people as she cared so deeply about people.

“She was always sending cards to people because she was so caring.”

The cafe is raising money for two charities that are close to the heart of the much-loved employee.

The coffee shop owner continued: “When we had seen the amount of lovely comments through the Facebook page after sharing the news we thought to turn it into something that would make Christine proud.

“We wanted to do something positive that others could remember her by.

“She was always so proud that her son Craig volunteered for Loch Lomond Rescue Boat, so that’s why we decided to put the fund to that.”

Her family have since asked for donations to the stroke unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital so Helen has also started a collection box in the cafe.

To donate visit bit.ly/christinescruples or drop your donation into the collection box at the cafe during normal opening hours.