Celebrate Success Wales 2009
The Prince’s Trust Celebrate Success Awards
honour the achievements of disadvantaged young people supported by
The Trust who have succeeded against the odds, improved their
chances in life and had a positive impact on their local
community.
All the finalists have been selected from young
people supported by The Trust in the Wales over the past year. The
dedicated support provided by Prince’s Trust volunteers, partner
organisations and staff throughout Wales was also recognised at the
ceremony.
Wales
& West Utilities Young Achiever of the Year Award
Sarah Jane Bagley
Sarah struggled throughout her childhood. Not only had her
younger brother sadly died of cot death but Sarah also suffered
abuse. As a result Sarah sank into depression and on several
occasions, she attempted to take her own life as she was struggling
to cope.
Sarah first got involved with The Prince’s Trust after attending
the Team programme. Once Team was complete she had gained skills in
team-work and enough confidence to go on to a Get Started with
Heritage programme.
The programme showed Sarah that she could escape depression by
giving her the confidence to believe in herself. She is now
motivated and believes nothing is impossible.
Since completing the programme, Sarah has decided she would like
to help other young people. She has passed her training and now is
a Volunteer Mentor for SOVA (Supporting Others through Volunteer
Action).
Sarah has overcome so many barriers since being involved with
The Trust and is looking forward to a future of helping others.
Capgemini
Educational Achiever
Arron Lloyd
Emotional and behavioural difficulties left Arron at risk of
being permanently excluded from school. Involved with a gang and
taking drugs, his behaviour was getting out of control. Arron had
lost hope for anything positive to happen in his life.
Arron was referred to the xl club. He needed to gain some
confidence and see that education was not a joke. At first, Arron
just wanted to continue to mess around but xl soon changed his
outlook on school.
Seeking help for his drugs misuse, Arron started to thrive on
the programme. He started to get involved in all activities and
began to believe in himself. Other xl members started to look up to
Arron as the leader of the group. He has since gone on to achieve
his Bronze and Gold xl Awards.
Arron is now a happy and positive person who is looking forward
to the future. He has been able to change his reputation at school
and has applied to go to college to gain more qualifications.
The
Federation of Small Businesses Enterprise Award
Uniform2Go
Despite achieving great qualifications, Emma was struggling to
find a job. The area in which she lives has a high unemployment
level and jobs were scarce.
Emma decided that she needed to move on with her life and had
the idea to start her own company. With banks not taking Emma
seriously, she turned to The Prince’s Trust for help.
The Trust was able to offer Emma a low interest loan to start
Uniform2Go. Uniform2Go supplies high quality school uniforms in the
local area. The money Emma received from The Trust enabled her to
purchase the machinery she needed to meet the demand the business
was receiving.
Emma now employs one full-time member of staff as well as a
part-time member of staff. Her motivation has increased
dramatically. She hopes to expand the business to other clients
such as sports clubs. Her enthusiasm and commitment really shows
that you can achieve anything when you put your mind to it.
South
Wales Fire & Rescue Service Inspiring Leaders Award
Louise Hill
“Unquestionably the most dedicated and committed Team Leader” is
how people describe Louise. Having run 17 Teams to date, Louise has
developed her own unique leadership style, and this allows her to
effectively control Teams to get the best out of them whilst at the
same time allowing them to make their own decisions.
Louise has a great quality of keeping the Team motivated and
enthusiastic in projects and encouraging them to make the right
choices. Team members develop a great sense of trust for Louise.
She understands the needs of Prince’s Trust young people and is a
real role model to all.
Over the past seven years, Louise has been faced with some
challenging Team members but always stays positive and never
complains. She is continually determined to get the best out of
everyone. Her dedication and passion for Team continues despite any
difficult times that are thrown at her, and she is a real asset to
The Trust.
South Wales
Police Community Impact Award
Team 91, Cardiff
Team 91 Cardiff came from a mix of backgrounds. Ex-offenders,
the unemployed and those who had struggled at school. All were keen
to learn new skills and focus on embracing challenges during their
12 week programme. A local school needed a suitable outdoor area
for their pupils so Team 91 decided to lend a hand.
Raising over £350 through fundraising allowed the Team to
transform the outside area into a patio complete with flower beds,
compost plot, water butt and a seating area.
If that wasn’t enough the Team took on a further challenge of
developing an outdoor chicken enclosure for another school. They
produced a clean and safe environment for pupils to look after the
chickens as well as making sure the animals were safe from urban
foxes.
Team 91 pulled together as a group to complete both challenges.
They increased their communication skills and problem solving
techniques at the same time as helping two schools to have better
outdoor environments.
Legal &
General Volunteer of the Year Award
Kempton Rees
Several years ago Kempton was a Business Mentor for The Prince’s
Trust. When he heard the programme was starting up again in Wales,
he wanted to be involved.
This time round, having previous experience with The Trust,
meant that Kempton was able to be a dedicated business panel
member. He supported the development of the Business Programme in
Swansea. This support and guidance proved vital in building the new
panels ability for the programme going forward.
Kempton has a great approach with young people. Despite his
demanding job he still finds time to be available to young people.
He is continually flexible and approachable whenever they require
his help.
Committed and dedicated, Kempton really demonstrates why
volunteers are so important to help change young lives and run the
programmes as effectively as possible.
The Trust is privileged that Kempton decided to return to offer
his support once again to the region.
Christ College
Brecon Staff Award
Gerry O’Sullivan
Since 1998, Gerry has been involved with The Prince’s Trust. Her
first experience was when she was seconded as a Team Leader from
her previous employer. This gave Gerry the motivation to want to
help more young people and she applied for a full-time position at
The Trust.
As Programme Manager for xl in Wales, Gerry clearly believes in
what xl can do for young people. Her passion and dedication to the
programme has enabled xl to grow within the region. This year the
3,000 barrier was broken as to how many young people have
successfully achieved an xl Award.
If there is an xl event going on in Wales, Gerry will be there.
She also organises celebration events and conferences for xl
Advisers to offer support and advice. Her hands-on approach has
enabled her to develop great relationships with partners, staff and
young people. Gerry’s enthusiasm for xl is infectious. If it wasn’t
for Gerry, xl in Wales just wouldn’t be the same.