A group from Rossett School in Harrogate has won the Amnesty International Most Effective Fundraiser Youth Award. Amnesty’s Youth Awards celebrate young people aged from 7 to 19 years old who creatively interpret a human rights topic through reporting, photography, song-writing and performing, fundraising and campaigning.
Members of Rossett Amnesty organised an overnight vigil to raise money and highlight the impact of war in Syria under the title Stay Awake for Syria.
More than eighty students aged between 11 and 13 (years 7 and 8) were sponsored to stay up all night together creating posters and Tweeting message of solidarity for people living in Syria. Rossett’s Amnesty Group organised activities throughout the night to try and keep students awake including star jumps at 3am!
From their group 18 year old Samantha Williams and 17 year old Peter Jones attended the Ceremony to receive the Award.
Upon winning the award, they said: It’s an honour to win the award for such an important cause. We feel inspired to keep on doing this. We were happy to represent Rossett Amnesty group here.
Now in its second year, the Amnesty Youth Awards competition has become extremely popular in schools and colleges across the UK and this year more than 1300 young people entered.
The Amnesty International Youth Awards competition is this year run in partnership with TES and supported by SOAS, Getty Images and players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
