Thursday, July 1, 2021 WOKINGHAM.TODAY
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Anti-bullying campaigner wins national award for service By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokingham.today AN 11-YEAR-OLD boy from Wokingham has been awarded The Diana Award for his anti-bullying work.
Charlie Kristensen has been recognised with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts. It was granted for his mentoring, campaigning and fundraising on a local, national and international level. The award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex. In 2019, he came up with the #CheerUpCharlie campaign, after being mentally and physically bullied severely for over 18 months. It was partly due to his love of performing. As part of this, hundreds of performers and creatives from the West End, Broadway and Hollywood identified with Charlie’s story, and inundated him
Wellington student wins Diana Award A PUPIL was honoured with an award for supporting disadvantaged children this week. Wellington College student, Ishan Kapur, was presented with The Diana
with video messages of support including backstage invitations. From this, Charlie was inspired to train as an ambassador for The Diana Award, and now gives more than 100 hours each month to others. “I never dreamed two years ago, going through what I went through, that I'd now be in the position I'm in,” Charlie said. “To receive a Diana Award is just a dream come true. “I hope I really can become the change maker for my generation that I want to be.” Tessy Ojo, charity CEO, said: “We congratulate all our new Diana Award recipients from the UK and all over the globe who are changemakers for their generation. “We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens. For more than 20 years The Diana Award has valued and invested in Award at a virtual ceremony on Monday, June 28. The 15-year-old boarder from New Delhi raised £5,000 to give digital devices to underprivileged children in India. He was honoured for going the extra mile in his work with Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama New Delhi. Through the campaign,
“Suncream can be a huge expense,” Ms Cantrell said. The packs also include games to play outside in parks or gardens, as well as art and craft activities for rainy days. As the charity prepares for summer, it is calling on parents to donate any good-quality school uniform, to help others in the return to school come September. “We have donation points across the borough, where people can drop their out-grown uniforms,” Ms Cantrell said. The charity accepts school uniforms for any school aged child, winter coats for ages four to 18, shoes and trainers for the same ages, sports equipment and clothing, as well as stationery and school bags. Donations can be dropped into orange bins at St Crispin’s School and Tesco in Wokingham, Sainsbury’s in Winnersh and Morrisons in Woosehill.
Literacy charity ABC to Read given £5,000
BOOK WORMS: Volunteers help a student improve their reading skills Picture: ABC to Read
HONOUR: Charlie Kristensen has received a Diana Award Picture: Paul Nicholas Dyke Photography
young people encouraging them to continue to make positive change in their communities and lives of others.” Award recipients are put forward by adults who know them in a professional capacity.
Charlie was nominated by his publicist, Alison Duguid, who had to demonstrate Charlie’s impact. Last spring,Charlie launched a YouTube series called Musical Chairs with #CheerUpCharlie. They featured weekly interviews
Ishan collected almost 100 laptops and tablets for teachers and students and made sure they had access to internet connection during the national lockdown. Ishan said it felt “amazing” to win The Diana Award. He said: “When covid hit, I wanted to do as much as possible to help the
pupils at Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, especially the children in the older years who had missed a whole year of school and had important exams. “They have been so grateful for the tablets and it has helped them to focus on their studies.' Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award, added: “We know by receiving this
Charity thanks mystery donor � Continued from front page
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Ms Cantrell said she was very moved last week, when a family donated a bed to the charity. It had originally been donated to them in 2017 by First Days. “The mum came, and she said we had really helped during their time of need,” Ms Cantrell said. “They are doing really well now and wanted to give back to the organisation that helped them. “It was so moving for me, as a charity we live by this idea of things going from one family to another. The fact they brought it back after they’d outgrown it means everything to me, and what this charity is about.” Each time an item is approved for use, a First Days volunteer attaches a sticker, and signs it off with a date. “It was really nice for Ian, one of our volunteers, to see his name on the bed he signed four years ago,” Ms Cantrell added. � For more information about First Days Children’s Charity, visit: www.firstdays.net
with high-profile entertainment industry guests, who shared their experiences of bullying. Last November, Charlie released a fundraising charity single on National Anti-Bullying Week in aid of The Diana Award. honour students will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens. “For more than 20 years the award has valued and invested in young people encouraging them to continue to make positive change in their communities.” THANK YOU: The mystery donor knows what the charity needs, says Emma Cantrell Picture: First Days Children’s Charity
A READING charity will start tackling the education gap caused by the coronavirus, thanks to a donation from Berkshire Community Foundation (BCF). ABC to Read has been granted £5,000 to address literacy in primary school-aged children following the pandemic. According to BCF, one in four youngsters left primary school in 2019 unable to read to the required standard, and unemployed adults are twice as likely to have weak literacy skills. Now, the Reading-based charity will use the funds to continue mentoring children to improve their reading abilities, following fears the virus prevented children from keeping up with their classmates. Marcia Rowlinson, CEO of ABC to Read, said: “It is absolutely crucial to address the education gap caused by Covid-19, to improve the future prospects of our local youngsters. “Our volunteers are a critical part of the recovery process at this difficult time, bridging that gap and inspiring a love of reading, and we are ever grateful for the ongoing support of BCF in helping us impact as many Berkshire children as we can.” On average, the charity supports 360 children and invests 12,000 hours into helping them read each year. � To find out more about ABC to Read, visit: www.abctoread.org.uk
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