Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Carol to receive an MBE
MBE for charity worker
Charity champion Carol Russell is “absolutely thrilled” after being awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list.
Despite initially thinking it was“a wind-up”, the hard-working Airdrie mum is now the toast of her delighted family and friends.
Carol, 53, chair of charity HOPE For Autism, has been recognised for her first-class services to “speech and language therapy education, autism awareness and charity work”.
A selfless, dedicated Airdrie mum has been rewarded for more than two decades of helping others by receiving an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list.
Carol Russell, the chair of charity HOPE for Autism, has been honoured for her first-class services to “speech and language therapy education, autism awareness and charity work”.
The delighted 53- year- old told the Advertiser: “When I read the letter saying I was receiving an MBE I couldn’t take it in; I thought, ‘is this a wind-up?!’
“It absolutely blew my mind as never in a million years did I expect anything like this. It was a bit of a task keeping it a secret from everyone at first but I am extremely honoured and happy with the news.
“My family are absolutely thrilled as they know how much work I have put into helping people with autism.
“Since announcing my MBE on Facebook, I’ve been inundated with lovely messages; many from old work colleagues and others highlighting how HOPE helped them and their children.”
Carol helped form HOPE for Autism in her home town 16 years ago, with the charity beginning life as the North Lanarkshire branch of the National Autistic Society.
She was inspired to help support young people and their families cope with “all aspects” of the condition after her daughter Nicole was diagnosed with severe autism at the age of four.
In a typical example of the type of determination and hard work that saw Carol honoured by the Queen, she oversaw HOPE for Autism’s growth from the ground up to reach out to “as many people as possible” in her home town.
She said: “While we were a part of the National Autistic Society, I felt we weren’t helping enough families locally.
“The group then broke away and formed HOPE, which became an official charity in 2002.
“Getting involved with other families and seeing how children are able to do things their parents never thought possible is what keeps me going.”
Carol, who has been chair at HOPE for more than seven years, added: “I have been with the health board for the past 18 years and act as a speech and language therapist, teaching parents how to communicate with their kids.
“It is a privilege to work with children in schools and being in the position I’m in, being chair of a charity and in education, allows me to help parents who have school-related concerns about their kids.”
Despite her tireless work with others, Carol still finds the time to be a magnificent mum to her children.
She said: “My daughter Nicole has come a long way over the years and she attends all of the charity’s social events with me.
“She is the life and soul of everything she’s involved in and is very aware of the world around her.
“My sons are involved with HOPE too, through raising awareness and fundraising, and I am so proud of them.
“My family know how much my work means to me; for many of my first few years I was getting by on three hours’ sleep every night and even now I still speak to people needing support when I’m on holidays.
“But my loved ones all support me and understand how passionate I am; they are all so wonderful and I couldn’t do it without them.”
A citation from the Cabinet Office on Carol’s MBE read: “She has been crucial to the success of HOPE for Autism and raised thousands of pounds with her boundless energy and passion to make opportunities happen for young people on the autistic spectrum.
“Carol has had a massive influence on the development of materials to help support agencies who work with people with autism.
“She gives up a lot, if not all, of her spare time to help others and ensure the vision of the charity is achieved.”