YOUNG PEOPLE FROM FELIXSTOWE WIN TOP ROYAL AWARD

The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx & Homesense Awards will be broadcast on ITV at 20:30 on Thursday 26th May

Cameron Sadler, Poppy Ferrar, Talena Dalton and Mason Grant aged 18-22, from Felixstowe, have today scooped a prestigious award from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales after making an big impression as they decided to tap into the wisdom of their local community’s older residents.

 

Cameron, Poppy, Mason and Talena, a group of students from Inspire, scooped the prestigious Dell Technologies Community Impact Award, which celebrates young people who have made positive contributions to their local community whilst developing their own skills.

The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx & Homesense Awards recognise young people who have succeeded against the odds, improved their chances in life and had a positive impact on their local community. The star-studded ceremony held at Theatre Royal Drury Lane was hosted by Ant and Dec and attended by Celebrity Ambassadors including Amal Clooney, Sir Ben Kingsley, Anne Marie, Melanie Chisholm, Nicola Adams, Jonathan Bailey and Phoebe Dynevor.

The four young people signed up for The Prince’s Trust Team programme with Inspire to build their confidence, meet new people and gain employability skills. When they started the programme, Cameron, Poppy, Talena and Mason were facing their own challenges in life, from long term unemployment and poor mental health to low confidence and anxiety about socialising.

Coming together as part of the Prince’s Trust Team programme, delivered by Inspire, the team took on a community project in Felixstowe to make a positive difference in the place they live and call home.

Wanting to support individuals over 65 for their community project, they were keen to break down age barriers and reduce loneliness; topics they knew were particularly important due to the pandemic.

The group chose to link up with three local care homes where they asked residents to submit letters with life advice for their 16-year-old selves. The young people received 15 letters back and with the help of a local printer made the letters into a book. They then visited the care homes to speak to the letter writers and asking more questions about the residents’ lives, which brought two very different age groups together.

Poppy, 22, said: “The project helped me come out of my shell and made a difference to individuals who experience the negative impacts of loneliness. The ‘Letters to my 16-year-old self’ project meant I got to listen and read about other people’s life experiences and stories of when they were younger and how they overcame obstacles they faced.”

On winning the Dell Community Impact Award, Cameron said: “This means so much to us all that I don’t think any of us actually expected to be recognised on such a level. Doing the programme has personally done so much for my confidence and anxiety and so much for us as individuals. The confidence we have gained along the way is already paying off, because we are all now either in further education, work or progressing towards our ideal job opportunities, feeling more confident in ourselves.”

Dayne Turbitt, SVP & General Manager of Dell Technologies said: “Congratulations to the Felixstowe Team on winning the Dell Technologies Community Impact Award. It’s inspiring to see the remarkable effort that this team has achieved, and they have made such a positive contribution to their local community. It’s amazing witnessing the team also continue to achieve their own individual successes in the process.”

Terry Baxter, CEO of Inspire, said: “We are incredibly proud of the Felixstowe team for this outstanding achievement. To witness them grow in confidence throughout the programme was a pleasure to watch, and this award is testament to their incredible hard work. The pandemic has had a huge impact on young people, but by working with organisations, like The Prince’s Trust, Inspire is truly changing lives for the better.”

For the first time, The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx & Homesense Awards will be broadcast on ITV and ITV Hub. Tune in at 20:30 on the 26th of May to celebrate the remarkable achievements of young people who have overcome barriers and transformed their lives with the support of The Prince’s Trust.

American actor and producer, Josh Hartnett said: “Talena, Poppy, Mason and Cameron, are very worthy winners of this award for their ingenious way of engaging with and supporting the older residents of their community. Their immense efforts during the programme have been vital to shine a light on the issue of loneliness. They truly are an inspiration.”