Mia is a champion
Top award for fundraising
A nine-year-old girl from Stirling whose brother has a rare condition has won a top award for her fundraising efforts.
Mia Widd, from St Ninians, has zip-wired 230 metres at 40mph, dressed as a bat girl and handed out leaflets at Rangers’ games to raise money for the charity.
The youngster, whose brother Arryn, 19, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was presented with Muscular Dystrophy UK’s national Saltire achievement award in Glasgow.
Proud dad Dean said: “Mia has only ever seen her brother in a wheelchair and she just wants to help Arryn and people like him to have a good life.
“For several years now, while other youngsters have been out playing, Mia has been spending her weekends rattling buckets. Her confidence has built up over the years and with it the support she gets from the public.”
Muscular Dystrophy UK’s chief executive Catherine Woodhead, said: “Mia has shown remarkable maturity in giving up her time to take on both exhilarating activities and tireless fundraising and she has shown a selfless ‘go and do’ attitude to make a difference for her brother and others with a muscle wasting condition.”
Duchenne muscular dystrophy causes muscles to weaken over time, leading to increasing and severe disability. The condition affects not only muscles used for movement but also the heart and vital breathing muscles too, cutting lives short. It affects mostly boys and few born with the condition live to see their 30th birthday.
Award winners were selected by Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Scottish Council in recognition of people who have shown fantastic commitment to help beat muscle-wasting conditions.