The Young Person of the Year award celebrates youngsters engaged in diverse and challenging tasks or who have simply stepped up, when needed, to help others – and our three nominees all fit the bill admirably.
While there can only be one who can take the award we celebrate here the incredible work of these three young people, and another who took the title in a previous year.
Harry Peksa, aged eight, cycled over 1,240 miles and climbed 27,000 metres of hills to raise £15,000, for the love of hedgehogs.
Ten-year-old Abbie Shakespeare was diagnosed with autism when she was six and started a campaign to raise awareness of the condition as part of her Girlguiding campaigning badge.
Ben Lewis, who works for a digital transformation company, helps support young people who identify as neurodivergent.
You can see their stories below.
Reading Today are sponsoring the award. Editor Phil Creighton explained why they were supporting the Pride of Reading Awards.
“Our motto is ‘Reading’s new champion’ and we are passionate about the community of Reading and the people who want to make our town a better place.
“The Young Person of the Year award is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions that our future generations are already making. All three of the shortlisted entries would be worthy winners of a Pride of Reading Award.
“Children aren’t our future – they’re already making a difference to so many people, and we’re delighted to back this award.”
A former winner of the award is Carly Newman who won in 2017 aged 20. A ex-Reading Girls’ School pupil, Carly has played a “pivotal role” in developing an army of ambassadors for a young people’s counselling service.
She said this month: “Winning felt like an extraordinary, life-changing moment for me. It was so wonderful to even be nominated and then for my work and achievements to be recognised with such an important award was really special.
“I would like to wish all of the nominees for this year’s award the best of luck, and also would like to congratulate them on being nominated and for everything they have done to deserve the award.”
Carly’s nominator from the No5 youth counselling service said they had given her counselling when she was 14 and she soon felt strongly she wanted to give something back and joined their Young Ambassador scheme in its infancy.
They added Young Ambassadors was now a flourishing group at the heart of the service and Carly had helped recruit other Young Ambassadors.
Carly demonstrated outstanding community spirit by devoting hundreds of hours of her time to delivering positive mental health messages and support to other young people in Reading.
She showed a selfless commitment to sharing her personal experience of mental health difficulties and her counselling journey at No5 to other young people, supporters of the charity, corporations, and local and national media.
“She also shows tremendous drive throughout all areas of her life,” said her nominator.
Along with voluntary work at No5, she studied full-time for an undergraduate degree at Royal Holloway University and was vice-chair of the university’s mental health committee.
As well as her current full-time role at No5, Carly has completed a Master’s degree in Philosophy and mental health this summer.
“She has made a lasting impression on all who have met and worked with her,” said her nominator, “ and she plays an integral role in helping to reduce the stigma associated with mental health difficulties in our community.
“She is a fantastic role model and testament to the impact that quality mental health support has on young people.”
The Young Person of the Year 2023 will be announced at the Pride of Reading Awards lunch on October 27.
BEN LEWIS
Ben Lewis, who is 19, works for a digital transformation company, and helps support young people who identify as neurodivergent.
Ben, who has been nominated for a young Person of the Year award, aims to bring them under his company VisiMedia’s wing and “help them develop skills they would not be able to through the traditional channels”
He has worked tirelessly with the Caversham-based business and services firm and his manager Ash Wells to bring more young people under him and boost the Reading economy, said his nomination.
ABBIE SHAKESPEARE
A 10-year-old girl who started a campaign to raise awareness of the issues surrounding autism as part of her Girl Guiding campaigning badge, has been put forward for a Pride of Reading Award.
Abbie Shakespeare was diagnosed with autism aged six.
Frustrated that other children did not understand her condition she recorded a five-minute presentation in which she covered a number of neurodiverse conditions, her struggles and showed how people can help other youngsters.
The video was uploaded on to YouTube and shared with her school and girl guides.
Abbie, from Earley, has been nominated for the Young Person of the Year award, sponsored by Reading Today, which salutes an individual or team engaged in diverse and challenging tasks, or simply who have stepped up when needed to help others.
Her nominator said: “Abbie has always been very shy but this platform gave her the confidence to stand and speak to all the children at Hawkedon Primary School assembly as they celebrated Neurodiversity Awareness Week.
“Girlguiding HQ also had visibility and promoted the campaign across the UK. She was interviewed on Meridian TV news, radio and in Wokingham Today,” she added.
Wokingham Borough Council circulated the video to all schools in the borough and shared it on social media.
Her nominator added: “She has been a true inspiration and a voice for many others to promote inclusion and acceptance for people with neurodiverse conditions.”
HARRY PESKA
His efforts on behalf of hedgehogs has brought eight-year-old Harry Peksa a nomination for Young Person of the Year.
Harry from Winnersh decided he would like to go on an epic summer adventure to raise funds for Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital, said his nominator.
In July last year, he cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, clocking up more than 1,240 miles and climbing 27,000 metres of hills in 36 days, all for the love of the little spiky creatures.
And his hard slog paid off – he raised £15,000.
His determination was brilliant, his nominator added. While his his father pulled a trailer behind his bike packed with everything they needed, Harry focused on cycling, urging his father on when he flagged.
Harry spread the word about hedgehogs on TV, radio and in Wokingham Today, gathering donations in hotels, cafes, bike shops and even at the service stations they cycled to.
Tiggywinkles were so pleased with his efforts they named the Hedgehog Ward after him, said his nominator.
“Harry also visited and donated money to multiple animal sanctuaries across the UK an amazing achievement for someone so young.
“He loved the experience so much he will be cycling it again this summer but in reverse, again all for the love of hedgehogs,” he said.
