Lewes Old Grammar School pupil Daniel MacDiarmid, known as Shrimpy to his mates, was handed the award at a ceremony in recognition for raising money via sponsored BMX stunts, cycling from Brighton to Portsmouth and zipwiring so that he could pay for toys for the Chestnut Tree House hospice.
Daniel is believed to be the youngest recipient of a Rotary Club citizens award after raising thousands of pounds for children’s charities.
Rotary Citizenship Awards are awarded annually, usually in May, to students or others associated with youth work. They are awarded to people who have contributed in some sacrificial way to a project which has benefited the community. They will have used their time, skill and initiative to achieve a worthwhile result. The Awards have been presented for many years now and consist of a certificate and a voucher to spend.
Lewes Rotary Club president Fiona Kaye said: “Daniel was one of six awardees this year. We recognised that his extraordinary efforts to raise resources for disadvantaged children confined to a hospice were deserving of an Award. He is probably the youngest recipient of this honour we have ever had, but thoroughly deserving of it.
Daniel started raising money two years ago doing BMX stunts in order to use sponsorship cash to buy toys for the children in Chestnut Tree House hospice. He raised £500. A year later he raised £1000 backflipping on his BMX and he followed this up by setting off to cycle from Brighton to Portsmouth, raising £1500 – at the tender age of nine. He did the 50 mile distance in five and a half hours.
Last December he headed to Snowdonia in North Wales where he took on the biggest, longest and fastest zipwire in Europe which reaches speeds of 100mph (that’s higher then the Empire State Building!) and is 500m high and 1.5km long – blindfolded.
He raised £2500 – which he spent on a vast array of toys which he handed over to Chestnut Tree House.
Said Daniel: “I’m really proud to have received this award. I just don’t like seeing people sad and I know that some of the children at Chestnut Tree House really love to play with different toys so that spurs me on to get the money to buy them.”
Daniel’s headteacher at Lewes Old Grammar Junior School Carrie Whyte added: “Daniel never fails to amaze us with his energy and commitment to making life better for others. He is inspirational to us all. We all feel so proud of his at school and can’t wait to hear what he is planning next!”
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