Outstanding young Shropshire people win awards

The youngsters were recognised as part of the Young Good Citizen Award Scheme run by West Mercia Police in partnership with the High Sheriffs of Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

The scheme aims to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of young people in the community, that might otherwise go unrecognised.

There were 11 winners across West Mercia and their family and friends were invited to an awards ceremony at West Mercia Police headquarters, at Hindlip Hall in Worcester.

Grace Davies-Friend, 14, of Shrewsbury was just nine months old when she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare child's tumour growing off the adrenal gland above the kidney.

Grace was treated at Birmingham Children's Hospital, where after several procedures, the tumour was removed and found to be the size of a grapefruit. But the tumour returned and spread to her lymph nodes, groin and liver. Grace had to have 25 per cent of her liver removed.

She needed a stem cell transplant and intensive chemotherapy which caused the loss of hearing in both ears.

Grace has overcome severe challenges in her life and now spends lots of her spare time helping others by raising money for the Children's Cancer Unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. She does this by taking part in sponsored silences, organising cake sales and mufti days.

Grace is currently working towards her Duke of Edinburgh award and is also a mentor to young children at the National Deaf Children's Society. Her latest sponsored event is a hike with friends over the South Shropshire Hills to raise money for the Starlight Children's Wish Foundation. This is the foundation that sponsored Grace when she was ill in her early years.

Billy Austin, eight, from Ellesmere was rewarded for his determination and charity work.

In 2013 his grandfather who he was extremely close to was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.

On seeing how the disease was affecting his grandfather, Billy made the decision to start fundraising for the Motor Neurone Disease Association . He made a pledge to complete a sponsored event every month in 2014 and his aim was to raise £1,000.

So far this year he has completed a sponsored walk, he has swam 64 lengths of a swimming pool and in March he joined up with Circus Fantasia and became a ring master for the day - the day after his grandfather died. Billy showed great courage and made the decision to carry on and was the star of the show.

His next events include a 12 mile cycle ride around Lake Vyrnwy, a sponsored run, a Junior Triathlon and in June he will be walking up Snowdon.

In the first three months Billy has raised more than £1,000, but is still determined to carry on and raise as much money as possible.

Thomas Heather, 11, of Market Drayton was honoured for his fundraising for his six-year-old cousin Evie.

She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and needed an operation that would save her from being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. It would cost £50,000 and the NHS would not pay for it. The only hope was for the family to raise the money themselves.

Although just nine-years-old at the time, Thomas threw himself into fundraising, spending many hours baking and selling cakes to raise money. He wanted to do more, so decided to do a sponsored walk up Snowdon. He trained hard and collected sponsorship money before completing the challenging feat in June 2013 – his challenge raised an amazing £3.000.

Thomas didn't stop there. He wrote to the Prime Minister and a number of celebrities, telling them about Evie's plight. He asked them to donate items that the family could auction and received replies from Tom Daly, Ferne Cotton and Lorraine Kelly.

By that autumn, enough money had been raised for Evie's operation. She had the operation in September 2013 and it was while we were on the school residential trip that there was a call to say that the operation had been successful.

Throughout the whole of the time when he was raising funds, Thomas constantly visited Evie and helped to cheer her up and bring a smile to her face. Thanks to Thomas' selfless and tireless fundraising efforts, Evie is now able to walk went above and beyond to raise vital funds for this very special cause.

Summer Davies-Newton, 18, of Telford has been registered with the Telford and Wrekin Young Carers Service since 2009. She helps to care for her mum. She is an incredibly positive young person who has been actively involved in all areas of the service including attending activities, welcoming and mentoring new young carers, attending and speaking at presentations with staff and helping with fundraising activities. She has also been a key member of focus groups acting as a young carers voices as to what they would like from the service.

Since turning 18, Summer has registered with the Adult Carers Service but remains involved with young carers through volunteering. She is an exceptional volunteer and role model for younger carers and uses initiative as well as her own experiences of being a young carer to build up rapport with all young carers accessing activities.

She has excelled at college and has succeeded in securing a place at her chosen university.

Summer is an active member of her local patient participation group where she is involved with consultations and fundraising with the group.