Kind Jemma our first Young Hero
An inspiring youngster who has raised over £ 1000 for several charities over the last three years has been awarded our first ever Young Local Hero Award .
Jemma Mackay (15) from Livingston is the first recipient of the award, courtesy of The Centre, Livingston and the West Lothian Courier, which has been set up to celebrate the Year of Young People.
Mum Lesley Mackay nominated her daughter after reading about the competition to reward and recognise young people in the community who have gone the extra mile to help others, following the success of the Local Hero Awards, founded in 2016 by the mall.
Jemma who makes crotchet forget-me-not pin badges and sells them for £1, has raised over £1000 for various charities including Poppy Scotland, Hounds for Heroes, Duke of Edinburgh Diamond Challenge and CHAS.
Her latest fundraising venture is to sell one crotchet pin badge every day for a year for Alzheimer’s Scotland following the passing of her papa, an ex-serviceman who suffered from Alzheimers, as she wanted to do something positive in his memory. Jemma has already raised £410 for the charity.
Jemma sells the badges to family and friends, at her school, The James Young High School, where the staff are always happy to support her charity ventures. She also sells them at West Lothian College where she attends a Friday afternoon course and at The Lamond Vet Clinic, who are great supporters of all her fundraising efforts.
Jemma, who is also a Young Leader at the 10th Livingston Rainbows and helps out with the weekly running of the group, said: “Fundraising makes me feel that I am doing something worthwhile and positive.
“Giving up some of my time to raise money for charity is something I believe is important as it gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing I may be making a small difference.
“Raising awareness of these charities to people in my age group is important to me and I would encourage anyone to get involved because nobody knows when they may need the help of others.”
Mum Lesley said: “It is so lovely that someone who is only 15 years old has been recognised for raising so much money and helping people in the community.
“Quite often we are roped in to help her sell her crotchet pin badges as she always has a goal of how many she wants to sell over a particular time and how much she wants to raise.
“Her dad, Craig, big sister and I are all tremendously proud of Jemma, who always thinks of others before herself - her late papa, would be so very proud of her too.”
Ashley Bisland, deputy centre director at The Centre, added: “Huge congratulations to Jemma from all of us at The Centre, Livingston for being the first winner of our Young Local Hero Award 2018.
“Raising so much money for charities which are really close to her heart is such a wonderful thing to do which is why we are delighted to be able to present her with the Award this month and a £100 gift card to treat herself to something nice.”
Courier editor, Marjorie Kerr, also congratulated Jemma. She said: “Well done to Jemma.
“She should be rightly proud of winning this well-deserved award.”
If you know a youngster who has gone the extra mile to help others in the community, such as volunteering in a community group, fundraising or caring for their siblings or perhaps even someone who has excelled at school or a sports club and deserves recognition, please send an email with the details to debbie.hall@trinitymirror.com.
Fundraising makes me feel I am doing something worthwhile