Isle of Wight Radio's Child of Wight Awards 2020

The Island is blessed with an abundance of exceptional youngsters — and Isle of Wight Radio’s Child of Wight Awards recognise their wonderful achievements.

John Irvine, CEO of headline sponsors WightFibre said: “WightFibre is again delighted to sponsor the Isle of Wight Radio Child of Wight Awards. In this very difficult year of the COVID-19 pandemic it is even more important to recognise the achievements of our young people. A big thank you to Isle of Wight Radio for ensuring the Child of Wight Awards proceeded and for organising the virtual award ceremony. Everyone at WightFibre congratulates all the nominees, finalists and winners on their outstanding achievements”.

And the winners are:

Asa Singleton Award sponsored by Wightlink: Hayden Ford

At just five years old, Hayden has been through more than most children her age. She has a rare bowel condition, but she never lets it stand in her way.

During lockdown, she walked the wight her own way, totalling 31.5 miles, along with her two year old brother and raised money for Mountbatten.

Hayden also sold sunflower plants that she had grown to raise more funds, and always goes out of her way to help anyone who looks lonely, scared or in need of a hug.

Young Carer Award sponsored by Fidelity International: Brooke Dibbens

Thirteen year old Brooke moved in to her grandparent's house during lockdown to help her Nan after she had broken her arm. Her Grandad has dementia and had recently been taken into respite. Brooke (who is now 14) cooked, cleaned, hoovered, made beds and offered valuable emotional support to her nan, all while completing her own school work and with a constant smile on her face.

Sporting Star Award sponsored by Mountjoy: Martha Eggleton

When Covid hit, Martha instantly missed being able to go to skate park and representing the Island in mainland skate events and training sessions. So she asked her dad to build her a wooden ramp in her garden. Dad, Rob, came up trumps with a half pipe which allows her to perform jumps, tricks and turns. 

Martha has shown true dedication to her sport and said the ramp made home school way more fun!

Fundraiser Award sponsored by Dyno Rod: Joshua Downer

Ten year old Josh shaved off his very long hair in assembly at school and raised an incredible £1,068 for children with cancer. He donated the seven inches of hair to Little Princess Trust, who make wigs for children with hair loss.

Josh's mum says he's a kind and generous boy and wanted to help as many children as possible to ring the 'end of treatment bell'.

Young Achiever Award sponsored by MG Heating: Corey Duke

When the water in Sandown Canoe Lake reached a dangerously low level, Corey stepped up and helped save hundreds of carp. He spent days and nights at the lake, keeping morale high, taking immense care of the fish and giving 110% effort to the cause.

Corey was nominated by people who met him for the first time at the lake and were so impressed by his exceptional community spirit.

Making a Difference in the Community Award sponsored by Utilita: Daniel Suckling

Eleven year old Daniel delivered essential supplies such as milk, bread and newspapers to the elderly in his village during lockdown. His parents run a small village shop and praised him for his understanding and maturity during such a difficult time. As well as helping the community, Daniel also assisted his little sister with her home schooling.

Making a Difference in the Community Award sponsored by Amazon World: Poppie Faithfull

Ten year old Poppie has been making a huge difference within her community, baking cakes for her neighbours and dropping them to doorsteps to cheer them up. The cakes went down so well, Poppie decided to put on a bake sale for Wessex Cancer Trust , with a full cream tea on offer. She raised an impressive £250, as well as lots of smiles.

Making a Difference in the Community Award sponsored by Wight Materials Handling: Deanna Perolls

At just 16 years old, Deanna has stepped up and provided invaluable help to her mum during lockdown. Deanna gets up early to look after her younger brother while her mum is at work, helps both her brother and sister with their school work, cooks dinner, goes shopping and never complains. Dee’s mum Claire says she’s a fantastic daughter who makes her proud every day

Making a Difference in the Community Award sponsored by AM Builders: Mai Mackay

Life hasn't been particularly easy of late for 11 year old Mai and her family, but Mai has been a huge asset to her family, always remaining incredibly bright and cheerful, taking care of her five year old brother and four year old sister and supporting and caring for her mum. Mai's grandmother has nominated her for the award, saying she takes a massive amount of worry on her 11 year old shoulders and they are all so very proud of her.

Making a Difference in the Community Award sponsored by Beacon Magazine: Cody McNulty

Cody's year six teacher nominated him to receive this award, saying that his dedication to others should be rewarded. This began last Christmas when he showed true dedication to the school community at the school fair. Then, during lockdown, Cody took it upon himself to make a class video which was sent to the school staff, absolutely blowing them away. Cody organised his classmates and edited the video, showcasing his incredible leadership and IT skills.

Overall winner sponsored by Wightfibre: William Jordan

When William was asked by his teacher to write down a dream that he would like to achieve by the end of the school year, William wrote that he would like to make 100 sock fish and sell them for £1 each to help parrots in the wild, and to help our oceans.

William cares deeply about all living creatures, so he chose two charities to support, The Rainforest Trust UK and Island charity, Blues Seas Protection. 

William has made and sold sock fish, sock parrots, sock stingrays and sock jellyfish, selling them to family and friends, and also plans to set up a stall in his road to sell more.

The Rainforest Trust UK told William about their current campaign to save the Blue Throated Macaw in Bolivia, which the money he raises will go towards. Blue Seas Protection invited William to their beach clean at Yaverland and awarded him a very special gold award.

William's mum, Lucy, says she is so proud of him and his actions towards conservation and education.