DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T….become a charity champion

Blanche Sainsbury wanted to honour and raise funds for incredible children

- FIONA KINLOCH

Standing outside Number 10 Downing Street, surrounded by some of the most inspirational children I’ve ever met, I’m filled with pure pride. It’s February 2020, and they’ve been invited to meet the Prime Minister after winning a National Children of Wales Award – a charitable event I founded a year previously, aged 55.

In 1984, I moved to Plymouth to work for the local newspaper. I loved reading about community stories with a real human angle that honoured local heroes. For two decades, I worked my way up and, in 2007, became Managing Director of a media company, and relocated to Wales.

I continued to hear about the adversity overcome by some of the most brave and courageous people in the community. From young children becoming carers and looking after parents, to families who are suffering with an ill relative, I wished there was a way to celebrate these people.