Courageous Family, sponsored by: Principality Building Society
This award was conceived with families who have coped with extreme circumstances in mind.
Henry was just five months old in 2012 when he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, which required emergency surgery. Two years after Henry finished his treatment in 2015, which lasted six months, his brother Edward was diagnosed with an equally rare and life-threatening form of cancer and underwent treatment for a whole year. It is hard to imagine the devastation this lovely family have felt, yet their positive attitude has remained inspiring and admirable throughout adversity.
James Harper, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Principality Building Society, said:
“We’re proud to be supporting the Courageous Family category at the Child of Wales Awards. As a society, we exist to support and celebrate our local communities, and this special event is testimony to the incredible achievements and bravery of children and young people across Wales.
“We’re also delighted that we share the same charity partner as the Child of Wales Awards – the Teenage Cancer Trust. This fantastic charity is paving the way with research, treatment and care to ensure no young person has to face cancer alone.”
The Child of Wales Awards, an event that celebrates the inspirational achievements of children across Wales, has thanked its sponsors for their continued support, which has allowed it to make a substantial donation to charity now, despite its annual event being delayed due to the coronavirus.
The event, originally due to take place in the Celtic Manor on April 3, 2020, will now go ahead on April 9, 2021, after originally being rescheduled for the autumn. The event will also release a video celebrating the achievements of some of the children nominated for awards this autumn.
The Child of Wales will donate £5,000 to each of the charities it is raising money for in recognition of the challenging times they are enduring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Its charities are: Teenage Cancer Trust, Dreams & Wishes and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
The Child of Wales is backed by Bluestone National Park Resort, Trade Centre Wales and Bidfood. The category sponsors are: 1192 Laser & Beauty Clinic, Acuity Law, Andrew Rees & Sons Butchers, Barclays, Bibendum Wine, Castell Howell Foods, DWJ Group, DWJ Wealth Management, Gower College Swansea, Iceland Foods, Joe’s Ice Cream, MGY, Mitre Linen, Princes Gate, Principality Building Society, RedKite Solicitors, Sytner BMW and Thomas Recruitment Group.
A number of other companies are helping fund the support packages for the winners, funding their stay at the Celtic Manor and Bluestone. These are: Penguin Recruitment, AB Glass, Work Wales, Gallagher, Seren Global Media, Holder Mathias Architects, Blue Tiger Marketing, Bullock, Storm technologies and MyConcern.
The Child of Wales will also unveil a small number of new awards this autumn, designed to recognise the contribution of young people in Wales who have gone the extra mile for their friends, relatives and their local community in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
Blanche Sainsbury, the founder of the event, said: “We would, once again, like to thank all of our sponsors, supporters and stakeholders for their continued support during these unprecedented times. It means a lot to us, the charities we are supporting and the children and young people whose lives and achievements we will celebrate. It gives us all hope and something to look forward to in the midst of uncertainty. But in the context of the pandemic and limitations on social gatherings, we have had to map the best way forward for the Child of Wales Awards.
“We have done this in the context of government guidelines and scientific advice and in the best interests of everyone involved in Child of Wales. But we are also still determined to create some magic and offer joy and happiness to individuals – the purpose of Child of Wales. When the event eventually does go ahead next year, we promise the long wait will be worth it – the evening will be amazing. We intend to finally deliver what we started and what so many people have worked so hard to make a very special event.
“Meanwhile, we are acutely aware of the challenges many charities have faced as a result of lockdown and restrictions on society. The delay of our event has limited our ability to fundraise but in light of the funding challenges many charities are facing, we will be presenting our charities with £5,000 each immediately. We hope this will help them through these difficult times. We again thank our sponsors for their continued support, which has made this possible.
“In addition to this, because we did not want to keep our amazing young people waiting that long before their achievements could be recognised, we also have a special surprise in store.
“We will be contacting all our young award winners over the next few months to tell them they have won and give them some very special surprises. We plan to then release a video of celebration, on the original date of the rescheduled awards on October 30.
“Finally, we will be adding a small number of new awards designed to celebrate the bravery and community spirit of Wales’ young people during the pandemic and through lockdown. If anyone is interested in working with us on these or sponsoring then, please get in touch.”
We have been catching up with some of our sponsors lately and it was amazing to hear about some of the initiatives undertaken by the Principality Building Society of late – during and despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Building Society donated more than £103,000 to our charity partners in the first half of 2020 including the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity close to our heart, and Alzheimer’s Society Cymru.
It has maintained its community support programmes through the lockdown period, helping foodbanks, donating rugby balls to kids, donating IT equipment to various school and community organisations and supporting the Free Bikes for Kids Project in Newport.
It has also sponsored the Young Enterprise Fiver Challenge (from Home) in Wales – which launched with more than 7,500 Primary Pupils taking part.
The Fiver from Home initiative asks students aged 5-11 years to create, research and plan a business with just £5. As the sponsor of Fiver from Home in Wales, Principality has provided funding allowing Young Enterprise to bring the challenge to Wales on a larger scale and in the Welsh language.
Fiver from Home has been created in response to the coronavirus pandemic in place of the Fiver Challenge which would have usually been run in the classroom. The new initiative allows young people to develop their creativity, commercial awareness and money management skills while at home.
During the project, students will learn important skills for starting their own mini business, including designing a company logo, undertaking market research, and planning their product/service. They will then pitch their plan in a Dragon’s Den-style to someone in their house. Throughout the summer months, students will also have the chance to win prizes by entering monthly competitions for the best logo, sales pitch and overall project in Wales.
Finally, it has also run its annual Summer Challenge Series, which has included Garden Tennis, Afternoon Tea at Home, Basketball, Trek 26 Local, and Virtual Zwift.
Well done Principality, your community-focused ethos and charitable work represents everything Child of Wales represents.
A bespoke design by acclaimed international fashion designer Jayne Pierson, the use of a super yacht for three days and a box at the Royal Albert Hall are just some of the prizes that will be available at the National Children of Wales Awards thanks to the generosity of the business community.
The National Children of Wales Awards will take place at the Celtic Manor on April 3, 2020. The organisers aim to raise £100,000 at the event, which will be distributed to four charities in Wales that help children: The Teenage Cancer Trust, Dreams & Wishes, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and the Bluestone Foundation.
The event has already attracted remarkable support from the business community with all award categories now sponsored for the evening – though opportunities remain for businesses to get involved by supporting other aspects of the event.
The event’s two main sponsors are The Trade Centre Wales, one of the largest and fastest growing used car companies in the UK, and Bidfood, one of the largest food wholesalers in the UK.
The category sponsors are: 1192 Laser & Beauty Clinic, Andrew Rees & Sons Butchers, Barclays, Bibendum Wine, DWJ Group, DWJ Wealth Management, Gower College Swansea, Iceland Foods, Joe’s Ice Cream, MGY, Mitre Linen, Princes Gate, Principality Building Society, RedKite Solicitors, Sytner BMW and Thomas Recruitment Group.
But the event hopes to add even more extraordinary auction prizes to the roster – giving it every chance of exceeding its £100,000 target for the evening.
Blanche Sainsbury, chair of the Bluestone National Park Resort and founder of the National Children of Wales Awards, said:
“Companies from across Wales have demonstarted remarkable generosity in their support for the inaugural National Children of Wales Awards through both backing the event as sponsors and by offering some extraordinary auction prizes. We have been blown away by the support for this event so far and we are delighted to still be speaking to a number of businesses and individuals about additional prices and sponsorship opportunities.”
Some 15 children will be recognised at the awards. The categories focus on diversity, bravery, sporting achievements, and will recognise children who help others through championing causes, caring and fundraising.
The prestigious event will feature male voice choir Only Men Aloud, the winners of BBC talent show Last Choir Standing; Angelicus Celtis, a choir of Welsh schoolgirls who reached the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent in 2017; and the event will also feature performances from Motionhouse, a world-class dance-circus production company.
Anyone interested in sponsoring the awards, buying a table or donating an auction prize, please contact Mark Hillary at: mhillary@bluestonewales.com
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