YEAR NINE’S Daniel Macdiarmid, who has raised thousands of pounds for a children’s hospice, is hoping to meet Boris Johnson after his good works were singled out by the prime minister’s office for praise.
14-year-old Daniel, known to all as Shrimpy, hit the national news at Christmas after his daredevil sponsored cliff-hang in Wales raised £7685 for Arundel’s Chestnut Tree Hospice – including a whopping £1000 donation from the comedian Jack Whitehall, Shrimpy’s idol whose TV show inspired him.
Daniel has been doing sponsored challenges to raise money to buy Christmas presents for sick children since he was nine.
In that time, he has done BMX stunts, cycled from Brighton to Portsmouth, taken on the highest, fastest and longest zipwire in Europe blindfolded and repeatedly abseiled off a huge viaduct enough times until he had covered the distance of the Empire State Building – all in the name of raising money to buy Christmas presents for children at the hospice. Every year he and his parents then go on a mammoth shopping spree with the money raised and deliver the hundreds of gifts to the hospice.
But he was not prepared for a letter arriving from the PM out of the blue in which he praised the schoolboy and awarded him a Points of Light certificate. Light certificates are given by the PM’s office to outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community. Every weekday, the Prime Minister recognizes an inspirational volunteer with the Daily Point of Light award.
The letter from Boris said: “I was astonished to learn of your daredevil escapades to fundraise for Chestnut Tree House Hospice. Whether it is tackling Europe’s highest zip wire blindfolded or abseiling the height of the Empire State Building, your feats are hugely impressive. What is more impressive, though, is the dedication you show to your local children’s hospice. The thousands of pounds you raise every year help brighten the lives of the resident children at the toughest of times. You are a true Point of Light. On behalf of the whole country, thank you.”
Daniel’s dad, also called Daniel, said; “Shrimp has been informed that something will be arranged in terms of meeting Boris in the near future. As parents, we are incredibly proud of him The fact that the prime minister has taken time to recognize Shrimp’s dedication to help poorly children in their time of need is absolutely fantastic.”
Shimpy added: “I feel really honoured to have received this letter. I have a huge amount of respect for Boris for not only for taking the time to reach out to a small fundraiser like myself but also for having the courage and bravery to step foot inside Ukraine whilst they are engaged in a terrible, unjustified attack on their country. He shows compassion for the Ukrainian people who desperately need it at this time and I too believe in helping others that need support which is why I do what I do and I always will!”
He added: “Last year the challenge was a long, drawn-out event testing my mental ability to withstand fear for hours and hours. This year I will be looking for a challenge which is crazy, fast and totally extreme and I will be looking for ideas and any support for the challenge itself so if anybody has any ideas, contacts or is interested in sponsoring the event, please contact my school, Lewes Old Grammar School, directly.”
Headteacher Mr Blewitt added: “Honestly, Daniel deserves every bit of this recognition. Every year his sponsored challenges get more elaborate so that he can raise even more for Chestnut Tree House. We are just glad that his tremendous determination to help other children has been rewarded. Well done, Daniel.”
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