INSPIRING young brothers from Rugby have been honoured with British Citizen Youth Awards (BCyA) for raising thousands for the hospital which saved the youngest boy’s life.
Daniel and Matthew Bubb were honoured at a formal presentation at the Palace of Westminster, attended by 120 guests including host Lord Blunkett, patrons Dame Mary Perkins, Nicky Cox MBE and presenter Kimberly Wyatt.
The brothers, both pupils at Ashlawn School, have raised over £6,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Heart Unit – inspired by the open heart surgery which saved Matthew’s life when he was just 10 months old.
Matthew, now 14, is still to this day passionate about helping the hospital.
And having seen his little brother’s fight and ongoing treatment, Daniel, 16, is equally motivated to raise awareness and give something back.
In a joint statement, the Bubb brothers said: “Our passion is to fundraise for BCH Heart Unit in our spare time to say thank you to all the amazing surgeons, doctors and nurses for everything they have done and to help raise funds to help other children. We can never thank them enough.”
This year, Daniel overcome his fear of heights and abseiled 100ft at the Fort Dunlop Building near Birmingham, raising over £1,150.
The boys’ other fund-raising activities have included a 5k Mini Military Mud Run, raffles, plant sales, and even Matthew winning the Rugby Rotary Photography Competition earlier this year.
“It feels really good as we have done challenges like the mud run and abseil, which we might not have done otherwise,” they said.
“We know all the money is really appreciated. It has helped to buy heart monitors which children can wear at home and school – Matthew has even borrowed one of them a few times.
“The money has also provided toys and games for children to pay with while they stay in hospital, and has contributed towards buying more expensive equipment like new ECG monitors.”
The brothers, who also won Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s Young Fundraisers of the Year award in May, said they were shocked when they learned they had been nominated for a BCyA.
They received their medals from Kimberly Wyatt, presenter of Got to Dance and member of The Pussycats Dolls.
“We felt very nervous but excited when we were called up to be presented with our medals,” they said. “We felt very proud and honoured.”
The boys were given the full VIP treatment, arriving in London by First Class train and staying overnight in a hotel.
Before the awards they were treated to afternoon tea, where they met the 24 other children being honoured that day.
“It was a privilege to meet the other amazing children and to hear their stories,” they said.
After the presentations everyone was taken on an open top bus tour around the capital. “It was a brilliant day we will never forget,” they said.
They thanked everyone who had donated to their events.
Proud parents Julie and Michael said it was an ‘extremely emotional’ moment to see them presented with their medals.
“We both feel very proud of them and their kindness and determination,” they said.
“We felt so proud their fundraising was being recognised and hope that this will encourage other young people to participate in fundraising too.”
Now in its fourth year, the BCyA highlights individual acts of bravery, kindness and compassion from young people under the age of 18 across the UK, to encourage them to continue and others to emulate their good deeds.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2020 medal presentations. Visit www.britishcitizenyouthawards.co.uk to register.
