National awards honour young people who make a difference
16 November 2006
A 19 year-old helping unemployed people in Kenya and a 15 year-old football referee have been honoured in the second annual Champions of Respect awards.
The awards, sponsored by the Evangelical Alliance, working with the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, Tearfund, Crusaders, Youth for Christ, Girls' Brigade England & Wales and others, reward young people aged 10 to 25 for the work they have done to help others and build community relationships. The awards are given for two age ranges; 10 to 16 year-olds, and 17 to 25 year-olds.
The Champions of Respect winners are:
In the 10 to 16 age group:
Daniel Cronin, a 15 year old football referee, who is training to become a football coach. He will be able to play a key role in a proposed new football academy which will train young people in Brentford, London.
In the 17 to 25 age group:
Luke Clifford, 19, from Roehampton, who has bought a plot of land in Kenya, and has set up the Amptex Garage project to train local people as mechanics, providing much-needed employment.
Luke also won the Anthony Walker Memorial Prize, presented by Mrs Gee Walker, in honour of her son who was murdered in Liverpool last year.
Mrs Walker said: “My Anthony was the champion of champions. How could I miss it when people are being given the opportunity to walk in my son’s footsteps? I have just come from my best friend’s funeral. That shows you how important it is, what the Evangelical Alliance is doing, that I’m here tonight".
Rev Joel Edwards, the General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: "With so many negative statements about young people flying around it is such a privilege to have models of positive lives. Champions of Respect has shown us that there are thousands of young people who take respect seriously and we have had the chance to meet four of them".
This year’s runners up were 11 year old Ailidh Henderson who raises money for orphans in Rwanda, and 22 year-old Carwyn Hill who is raising funds for a hospital in Haiti.
Ends.
Notes to editors:
A selection of high resolution photographs are available of the winners and runners up at the award ceremony. Due to file size these are available on request. Please use the contact details above.
Please visit www.championsofrespect.org for more information.
The Evangelical Alliance UK, formed in 1846, is an umbrella group representing over one million evangelical Christians in the UK and is made up of member churches, organisations and individuals. As part of a movement ‘uniting to change society’, the Alliance promotes unity and truth, acts as an evangelical voice to the state, society and the wider Church, and provides resources to help members and other evangelicals live out their faith in their communities.
