Manchester bombing survivor takes top honour at South Yorkshire awards ceremony

30th October 2018

Brave 13-year-old Amelia Thompson was awarded the top honour at the Hallam FM Hero Awards on Thursday 25 October at a ceremony held at The Garrison Hotel in Sheffield.

The community awards event, organised by radio station Hallam FM in conjunction with their charity Cash for Kids, rewarded the unsung heroes from across South Yorkshire in a night filled with inspiration and heartfelt stories thanks to some incredible members of society dedicating themselves to supporting others, all nominated by radio listeners. Sheffield based communications provider Plusnet, along with The Garrison Hotel, sponsored the awards event. Awards for best teacher, best young fundraiser, contribution to sport, environmentalist, investing in young people, unsung hero, inspirational family, student of the year and the Hallam Hero Award, which was won by Amelia, were handed out at the 164 year old hotel, a former military guardhouse. Amelia's story brought the audience to tears as the awards host, Hallam FM's Home Run presenter Simon Morykin, shared the story of how she'd struggled to come to terms with the terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande gig in May 2017. Her passion and dedication to helping others to overcome the attack, by joining a network for survivors and even passed on an invite to this year's Royal Wedding to the grandmother of another victim. She has also fundraised to bring one of the Manchester Bee sculptures to Sheffield as a tribute to Kelly Brewster, who was from Sheffield, and one of the 22 people who lost their lives so tragically that night. £2,000 was raised on the night for Hallam FM's Cash for Kids, a children's charity helping sick and disadvantaged children across South Yorkshire. The money raised will help support Mission Christmas, which ensures no children living in poverty in the local area wake up on Christmas Day morning without gifts. Taking the stage to receive her award, Amelia said: -I'm a bit overwhelmed. Being present that night has changed my life forever. This award really isn't for me, it's for the 22 people that lost their lives. Hallam FM Hero Awards host Simon Morykin said: -It was an incredibly humbling feeling to be asked to present the awards and an absolute pleasure to meet and honour these amazing selfless people who think nothing other than putting someone else first and helping their communities. Speaking about Amelia's award, Simon added: -It turns out a fellow guest on the night was also in attendance at the Manchester Arena and was struggling to talk about his experience and opened up to Amelia and her mum about what he'd been through. That really was a lump in the throat moment and that's exactly what the Hallam Hero Awards is all about, inspiring others. All full list of all the winners can be found by visiting https://cfk.org.uk/heroes

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