Category Archives: Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Disability, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – September 2018

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September is World Alzheimer’s Month and with this in mind we have chosen Fiona Phillips as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Fiona is a Broadcaster, TV presenter and newspaper columnist whose career in journalism started as a reporter for local radio, before moving to television with local BBC news and Sky news.

She joined GMTV in 1993 initially as the entertainment correspondent based in Los Angeles before becoming the main presenters of the show in 1997.  Fiona left the show after 12 years to spend more time with her children and care for her father.

Both Fiona’s parents were diagnosed with dementia. Fiona’s mother, Amy, had Alzheimer’s until her death in May 2006 and her father, Phillip, who was diagnosed with the disease shortly afterwards, died in February 2012.

Fiona is a passionate campaigner and ambassador for a number of national charities including, particularly, The Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Fiona’s latest TV show is Shop Smart: Save Money on Channel Five a show which offers guidance on finding great deals and offers, with tips, tricks and challenges to make sure shoppers are getting the best value for money.

To find out more about World Alzheimer’s Month see here

https://www.worldalzmonth.org/

To follow Fiona on Twitter see here https://twitter.com/realmissfiona

 

Age, Disability, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – August 2018

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On 12 August it is International Youth Day and with that in mind we have  chosen Jonjo Heuerman as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Jonjo was inspired to start fundraising following the death of his Nan in 2009 from Bowel Cancer, the same illness that took the life of Bobby Moore his football hero.

He decided that he wanted to make a difference and raise money in their memory so he spends his spare time raising funds and awareness for The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK.

His first challenge was a walk from Wembley Stadium to Upton Park finishing at the Champions Statue.  This has now become an annual event which he uses as a special memorial service to those lost to the illness.

Jonjo has arranged and taken part in many fundraising events since his first including:

  • Crossing 3 counties in Ireland on Foot
  • A giant football tag of the 93 league clubs
  • Dribbling a football for 50 miles
  • Cycling and walking via all the Premier League clubs
  • 450 mile walking and cycling challenge on 50th anniversary of England winning the World Cup
  • A walk of the Papal Basilcas of Rome

So far Jonjo has raised over £300,000 in funds and £1 million in awareness through his events and challenges and will not stop until there is a cure.

Jonjo became the youngest recipient of an award in the New Year’s Honours list when he received the BEM for his fundraising work in 2016.

To find out more about Jonjo see here http://fornannyandbobby.com/

To find out more about International Youth Day see here https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/international-youth-day-2018.html

Disability, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – July 2018

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Disability Awareness Day takes place on 15 July and with this in mind we have chosen JJ Chalmers as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

JJ was a Royal Marine with 42 Commando and in May 2011, he sustained devastating injuries in an IED blast in Afghanistan where he suffered facial injuries, lost two fingers and his right elbow disintegrated.

He was put back together by a team of medics, having nearly 30 operations and consequently it gave him a new perspective on life giving him the confidence to follow his dreams.

In September 2014, JJ took part in the Invictus Games and was a medal winner in non-amputee cycling, he Captained the trike team, he received a gold medal for the Men’s IRecB1 Recumbent Circuit Race, he won a bronze in the 1-mile time trial and he also won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100m mixed relay race.   In July 2016, he returned — as an Ambassador — to the 2016 Invictus Games, telling his story at the opening ceremony.

JJ went on to work with the BBC on their coverage of the games as well as presenting National Paralympic Day for Channel 4.  He travelled to Rio, as a presenter for Channel 4’s award-winning coverage of the 2016 Paralympics, as well as appearing as a guest on The Last Leg, broadcast nightly live from a studio in Rio.

In February 2017 JJ began presenting sports segments on BBC News and commentated on the Lord Mayor’s Show.  In 2018 the Commonwealth Games in The Gold Coast saw him presenting the BBC Sport’s TV coverage live on BBC One.

To find out more about JJ and what he is doing see here https://twitter.com/JJChalmersRM

To find out more about Disability Awareness Day see here https://www.disabilityawarenessday.org.uk/show/

 

Disability, Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – June 2018

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Diabetes Awareness Week runs from 11 to 17 June and with this in mind we  have chosen Jeremy Irvine as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Jeremy was inspired to become an actor by his former drama teacher, and in June 2010, was cast in the lead role of the Steven Spielberg film War Horse making his acting debut.

The casting process lasted for two months, with Jeremy auditioning several times a week. In an attempt to prepare himself for the role of Albert, he took up weight training and also underwent two months of intensive horse riding. Jeremy spent so much time recreating the Battle of Somme scene in the film that he ended up contracting trench foot.

For his work in the film, he was nominated for the London Film Critics’ Choice Award for Young British Performer of The Year and Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer.

Jeremy has had Diabetes Type 1 since childhood along with his two brothers.  During 2005 and 2007 he was been involved in trials with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to test an artificial pancreas and he introduced his experiences with diabetes to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the President of the JDRF, during a visit to the Cambridge Welcome Trust Clinical Research Facility in February 2012.

Jeremy avoids the spotlight realising very quickly that he didn’t want to be famous.  He said in relation to his success and fame that ‘The work my mum does, a lot of it is re-housing homeless people, that’s a real job. I play make-believe and dressing up for a living!”

To find out more about Jeremy’s work see here

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3528539/

To find out more about Diabetes Awareness Week see here

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/get_involved/diabetes-week

Disability, Diversity, Inclusion, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – May 2018

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Deaf Awareness Week is from 14 -20 May and with this in mind we have chosen Rachel Shenton as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Rachel is an actress appearing in many well know shows but most notably as Mitzeee Minniver in the TV show Hollyoaks.  She also spent two years in the US TV show ‘Switched at Birth’.

Rachel got involved in raising awareness of deafness in the UK when her father became deaf whilst undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Following her father’s death Rachel learnt British Sign Language and in 2011 she became an Ambassador for the National Deaf Children’s Society.  She has completed various events in aid of deaf societies including, skydiving, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and climbing the BT Tower.  In 2011 she helped launch ‘Viewtalk’ a social networking website for deaf people.

In 2018 Rachel wrote and starred in a short film ‘The Silent Child’, about a young deaf girl, which won this year’s Oscar in the Live Action Short Film category.

To find out more about Deaf Awareness Week see here http://deafcouncil.org.uk/deaf-awareness-week/

To find out more about Rachel see here https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2053650/

Disability, Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – April 2018

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On 11th April it is World Parkinson’s Day and with that in mind we have chosen Rob Deering as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Rob is a stand up comedian being one of the most in-demand headliners on the UK circuit, he’s toured nationally and performed solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe many times since starting out in comedy in the year 2000. His late-night, live-music comedy pop quiz Beat is a festival institution, on London’s South Bank, at Wales’ Green Man and many more besides Edinburgh.

Rob has performed throughout the world, in shows from the Middle East to Melbourne, Shanghai to the South of France, and he has appeared many Radio and TV shows.

He has been a supporter of Parkinson’s UK since 2007. His father has Parkinson’s and encouraged Rob to get involved. Since then he has run marathons, featured on quiz shows, and set up a series of comedy nights in support.

In 2007 he won £24,000 for the charity during a special comedians’ edition of the Weakest Link, and he also won Celebrity Mastermind in 2014.

Rob is the brains behind Shake with Laughter, a series of comedy nights around the country which is now in its sixth successful year. He also performed for Parkinson’s UK at the Royal Albert Hall in Symfunny No.2 last year.

Rob is a keen marathon runner and is the Parkinson’s UK Champion of Running. Inspired by his father, Rob takes part in a number of running events every year, including the London Marathon which he has run six times.

To find out more about World Parkinson’s Day see here https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/get-involved/world-parkinsons-day

To find out more about Rob see here http://www.robdeering.com/biography/

Disability, Diversity, Gender, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – March 2018

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LAURA JAMES – AUTHOR

On 26 March it is the start of World Autism Awareness Week and with this in mind we have chosen Laura James as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

In the UK, there are 700,000 people diagnosed with autism, according to the NAS. One of those people is Laura James. Laura is a journalist, author and columnist and her work has appeared in many national and international newspapers and magazines, and she’s the author of nine books.  Laura’s ninth book, Odd Girl Out, is a memoir focusing on her autism, the book tracks a year of her life as she comes to terms with the diagnosis.

Laura always felt like she was different – but it took more than 40 years for her to find out why.  At the age of 46 she was told she was autistic.  Laura was being tested for a condition related to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder, when a nurse recognised she was having an autistic meltdown.  Laura presumed she had made a mistake but Laura visited her GP who referred her to a psychiatrist. After carrying out a six-hour assessment, she was given her autism diagnosis.

At first Laura told only her family and close friends and found telling her husband and children quite uneventful, everyone else found out when she wrote an article about her diagnosis for The Guardian.

Straight after her diagnosis things hadn’t changed very much, but then she had therapy which was amazing. Her therapist specialised in autism and understood how she thought and really helped with the things she found difficult.  Through therapy and writing and everything that came after she learned to identify her feelings, put in to perspective the reason she always felt very fearful and learnt coping strategies like wearing noise cancelling headphones.

Laura feels passionate about breaking the lingering stereotypes around autism and normalising the condition in conversation.  She feels that ‘It doesn’t make you less of a person, just different.’

In an article for Good Housekeeping magazine Laura about her life and book said the following:

‘I want neurotypical women to read it so autism isn’t this big scary thing,’ Laura says.

‘When I was growing up people didn’t speak about depression – there was a proper stiff upper lip, whereas now there’s loads of people talking about health and wellbeing, including the royals.

‘If we could get to that stage with autism, where it’s mainstream and normalised, I think the world will be a much better place.’

To find out more about Laura see here

https://twitter.com/girl_by_the_aga

and to find out more World Autism Week see here

http://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/world-autism-awareness-week.aspx

 

 

Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month, LGBT

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – February 2018

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February is LGBT History Month and with that in mind we have chosen Heather Peace as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Heather is an actor and musician studying at Manchester Met University.  She has appeared in a number of well-known TV series including Emmerdale, London’s Burning, Ultimate Force, Waterloo Road and Prey.  She has been a classically trained pianist since the age of six and held a jazz residency at a club whilst at university.

Heather divides her time between acting and her music.  She has released numerous albums and tours regularly in the UK, Europe and currently in Australia.

Heather and her longtime partner Ellie Dickinson entered into a civil partnership in 2013, and subsequently converted it to marriage in 2014 and they have three daughters together.

Heather is a prominent supporter of LGBT equality causes. She is a patron of Manchester Pride and has recorded a video for Stonewall‘s “It Gets Better” campaign. She is involved in a number of related charities, including Diversity Role Models and The Albert Kennedy Trust.

She has hosted and curated her own “Heather Peace Presents” stage in several editions of Manchester Pride and in July 2016 Diva announced that Heather was its new columnist.

In 2010 she was number 40 on the Independent on Sunday‘s Pink List, and number 10 in 2011. She was also voted number 18 on US website afterellen.com’s 2011 Hot 100 list. She is also the only woman to have appeared twice on the cover of Diva Magazine in the space of six months.

To find out more about Heather’s music see here http://www.heatherpeace.com/ and for her acting see here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668698/

To find out more about Diversity Role Models see their website at https://www.diversityrolemodels.org/ and the Albert Kennedy Trust at https://www.akt.org.uk/

 

Disability, Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – January 2018

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World Braille Day takes place on 4 January and with that in mind we have chosen Gary Waite as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the month.

Gary is a photographer who only took up taking photos after he lost his sight.  He found out he had a hereditary eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa, at the age of 19. It was a total shock to him as it is women in a family who are carriers and the men get it. Two of his brothers and one nephew have the condition.

To begin with, he tried his best not to be associated with the condition. He didn’t want to be seen that way and throughout the Eighties he was hiding. He was able to play football with his mates, but would then bump into people on nights out. He tried a lot of jobs; including an electrician and a plumber; but it was too dangerous.

Eventually, he became depressed and his eyesight was getting worse when, in the early Nineties, he went to Moorfields Hospital and met an amazing woman named Barbara Norton, in the social work department, who helped him to get in touch with support groups.

Then, aged around 40, Gary’s eyesight went completely and it was while attending an IT course for visually impaired and blind people in Camberwell that he heard about the charity PhotoVoice.  Gary wasn’t interested at first and then, his curiosity overcame him. From the moment he lifted a digital SLR camera and started to experiment and ask questions, he was hooked. And he became really good at it.

It helped that Gary had not been blind from birth and knew what colours were but he needs to use his other senses particularly sound and touch and he uses his cane to be able to work out how to take the photo.

He always have someone with him and they go through the photos and have them described and together they edit the ones to delete or keep.

To find out more about PhotoVoice see here https://photovoice.org/our-partners/

To find out more about World Braille Day see here

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/world/world-braille-day

Disability, Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – November 2017

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World Diabetes Day is on 14 November and with that in mind we have chosen James Norton as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

James is an actor best known for his roles in the TV series’ Happy Valley, Grantchester and War and Peace. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2010 at the start of his acting career. He finds managing his diabetes challenging but he has not let it get in his way and refuses to let the condition hold him back from success.

James is a supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and their #T1DLooksLikeMe campaign which aims to help educate others about Type 1 diabetes.

To find out more about James see here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3584268/ .

To find out more about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and World Diabetes Day see the links below.

https://jdrf.org.uk/

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/World-Diabetes-Day.html