Rushcliffe nominees: 4Uth Awards 2020
David Curtis, Bingham, aged 18
David has taught a group of disabled swimmers at Bingham Penguins Swimming Club in their weekly swimming session. He has achieved his Swim England level one certificate in teaching swimming and has started level two, although this has had to be postponed due to Covid-19. He has also joined the Bingham Penguins Club committee as a trustee.
David always makes his lessons fun and engaging, and the swimmers are making great progress as a result. All the swimmers leave his lessons with big smiles. David's volunteering role has been crucial in getting the club back up and running. He has ensured his swimmers have had a gentle return to the pool after the first lockdown, and has helped them to slowly build up their fitness and confidence levels.
David is a very caring and committed member of the community. He gives his time generously and the club and swimmers benefit from the greatly.
Jamie Newman, Chilwell, aged 20
Jamie, formerly a pupil at Foxwood School, got some work experience at the City hospital. He later joined an agency then eventually applied for and got a job at the hospital within the logistics department. Through his work he has become financially independent, and he has learnt to travel independently.
Jamie own needs mean that he sometimes finds it difficult when things don't go to plan, but with the support of trusted people around him he has been able to overcome this to meet the needs of the community he works within.
His role in the hospital was delivering supplies and stock to the wards that were dealing with Covid-19 cases. through his work the wards had the appropriate equipment delivered to them to enable them to offer the care that was needed. For Jamie to continue to wok through the pandemic, was quite difficult as he had to learn new skills to keep himself safe, and overcome his personal anxiety about the situation, making a valuable contribution to the team he works with.
Jamie Thorley, Radcliffe On Trent, aged 17
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic Jamie has shown great resilience to stressful and constantly changing circumstances by devising a variety of positive coping strategies which he developed into a presentation to help both himself and other young people. Jamie moved to a new house from a rural area and settled into a completely new area. He left school, and got a place at an animal care college, gaining more independence.
Jamie has dedicated much of his time to developing a variety of practical and life skills with the support of his carer, and continues to be a committed member of the Children in Care Council.
Jamie has had a keen willingness to support others and share his ideas to help other young people, carers, workers and children, making them honest and relatable. During the pandemic his presentation was shared with fostering services, social care, youth service and the IRO (Independent Reviewing Officer) Service.
Jemima Somerfield, Widmerpool, aged 12
Jemima has raised £10,000 for the ITU (Intensive Treatment Unit) at the Queen's Medical Centre. She was so inspired clapping for the NHS on a Thursday night, she asked her dad to print her a T-shirt (her dad has his own printing business) so that she could wear it on Thursday nights.
Her neighbours saw her wearing the printed T-shirt and asked if they could have one too. So Jemima decided to print more T-shirts and sell them to neighbours, friends and family. Staff at the Little Boutique in Keyworth supported her fund raising by sharing the details on social media, and then demand really took off.
Jemima chose to donate the raised money to the ITU as they were front line staff working through the first national lockdown. Her mother also used to be an ITU nurse, so this was an area close to her heart. Jemima specifically wanted the money to be spent on the welfare of the staff, so it is being spent on a new staff room.
Raissa Jamil, West Bridgford, aged 25
Raissa is a founding member of the Meet, Greet, and Eat community group project. The group work around Rushcliffe and the south Nottinghamshire area, giving opportunities to young people with disabilities to learn and develop new skills, while also serving the local community by producing and providing food and support.
During the pandemic the work has taken a new focus, with the group putting together and sending out food parcels for others in times of need, ensuring people have essential supplies.
What started as a cafe style workshop has been quickly adapted to respond to the new greater need to support the vulnerable. Raissa is an inspirational example, always positive and extremely hardworking, serving the local community.
