The winners of the seventh Child Friendly Leeds Awards were announced at a space-themed ceremony at Leeds City Varieties on Thursday.
We are delighted to report that CHSF heart hero Danny Hirst walked away with the award for Young Person of the Year (11-21) 2020!
Children’s Heart Surgery Fund’s Lisa Williams nominated Danny for this award in recognition of all the amazing fundraising he has done for our charity, as well as always flying the CHSF and raising awareness of our cause.
Senior Community Fundraising Manager, Lisa said:
Danny always goes above and beyond, year on year, to take on new challenges, fundraise and volunteer his time. We wanted to recognise his great efforts and are so pleased he won this amazing award. Great achievement Danny and well deserved. Thank you for everything you do!
The awards celebrate all the hard work that is happening across the city of Leeds to make it one of the best places for children and young people to grow up in.
It was organised by ten young people – Tentastic Productions – aged 11-15, who planned every aspect of the ceremony, from designing the decorations and writing the script, to selecting the talented young performers who entertained guests.
Young Person of the Year (11–21):
Danny Hirst: Danny was born with a hole in his heart. In 2016, he had a mechanical valve fitted. He has fundraised for the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund by organising a ‘Wear Red Day’, taking part in ‘Superhero Walks’, doing a 10-storey building abseil, and persuading his mum to jump out of a plane.
We spoke to Danny about how it felt to win this award…
I was really pleased to be nominated for the Child Friendly Leeds Awards 2020 Young Person of the Year (11-21). Because the charity has helped me so much I enjoy doing what I can to fundraise and help out.
After seeing the other people shortlisted for the award, I was really surprised to hear my name announced as the winner. It feels amazing!