A young athlete from Cononley near Skipton has received a grant for coaching from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.

Jessica Mayho, 23, competes internationally in the women’s hammer and is aiming to qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She has gained support from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, L1 Performance, Sutcliffe Construction, Bottega Hairdressing, Mac G Racing and Westfield Health to fund her training but still has a shortfall in funds and the grant from the Foundation will go towards covering her annual coaching costs.

Foundation Vice Chairman Richard Stroud said: “Jessica is dedicated to her sport and also supports her local community. She has made an impressive effort to secure sponsorship already and we are delighted to be able to help. We look forward to hearing about her continued success.”
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The main fundraiser for the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation is the annual Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards which this year take place on Thursday 23 November, marking their 25th anniversary.

A Wakefield youngster has a new trike to help improve her mobility, thanks to the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.  Nine-year-old Leah Ann Bowie, of Kettlethorpe, was born with Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Her mobility is poor, causing her to fall frequently, and she is deaf and wears two cochlear implants. Her learning is delayed and she has no speech and problems with swallowing.

Her mum, Elaine, contacted the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation for a grant towards a specialised Tomcat Fizz trike for Leah Ann, the family having already raised £250 towards it. The new trike arrived this month and will enable Leah Ann to get about independently, without fear of falling or having to use a wheelchair.  Elaine said: “Leah Ann is delighted with it – it makes her life easier and more fun!”

The Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation distributes funds raised by the annual Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards, sponsored by McCormicks Solicitors.  The Foundation was formed in 2010 to support young people in the region to achieve their potential and makes grants to individuals and projects. Vice-chairman Richard Stroud said: “It is tremendous how something which seems so simple can make such a difference to a young person’s life.”

​Two special dogs are helping two Yorkshire youngsters to tackle the challenges in their lives, thanks to grants from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.

Ten-year-old Logan Robinson, of Pollington near Goole, and six-year-old Cohen Hadfield of Rotherham both have autism and have both been given grants towards Support Dogs which will help with their day-to-day lives.

The Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation distributes funds raised by the annual Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards, sponsored by McCormicks Solicitors.

The Foundation was formed in 2010 to support young people in the region to achieve their potential and makes grants to individuals and projects. Vice-chairman Richard Stroud said: “We were impressed by the efforts both families have made to raise money for the Support Dogs and by how much difference having a support dog could make to their lives.”

Both boys have been matched up with dogs by the Sheffield-based Support Dogs charity to help them to deal with difficult situations and to stay safe. Logan’s brown Labrador, Rollo, will join the family next month, while Cohen has a Golden Retriever/Labrador cross, Azerley, who is already making a huge difference to the family.

As well as autism, Logan has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, developmental delay and severe anxiety disorder, as well as other health issues. Due to his disabilities, he has no sensory comprehension, a lack of danger awareness and finds social situations extremely hard to manage.

His family has been fund-raising for their new dog, with dad Tony completing the Three Peaks, and they hope to be able to involve Logan in future fund-raising efforts, together with his dog, Rollo. Logan has already met Rollo and the family are working with Support Dogs on training before Rollo arrives in October.

Logan’s mum, Amanda, said Logan and the whole family were very excited about Rollo’s imminent arrival and she felt that the dog would make a big difference to their lives, keeping Logan safe from dangers that he does not perceive.

Cohen Hadfield also has developmental delay, along with hearing impairment and complex epilepsy. He, too, has no sense of danger and will run on to roads to avoid social situations. At the moment he has to sit in a special needs pushchair for his safety when he is outdoors but the family has already made some short shopping trips with Azerley and have found a huge difference in Cohen who has remained calm and walked with the dog. His mum, Sarah, said: “Being able to see Cohen do that is just fantastic! He would have run into the road but instead he just walked with Azerley and stayed on the pavement.”

She hopes having Azerley means that the family will be able to do things as a whole family, for example going to the park, which has not been possible before.

​​A young disabled sportsman has upgraded his wheelchair, thanks to a grant from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.

Joshua Gardner, 18, plays wheelchair basketball and rugby and needed a stronger, lighter and more reliable chair to progress.
Josh, who lives in Halton, Leeds, has seen great success in both sports, and heads to the Wheelchair Rugby Four Nations Cup next weekend (13 & 14 September) as first reserve.

He plays for the Leeds Rhinos WRL team, scoring around 20 points last season, and was also part of the Irish World Cup rugby team last year.

His Four Nations role comes hot on the heels as player/coach for England North at basketball in the UK School Games, where he helped the team win Silver last weekend.

He said: “My new chair is brilliant and arrived at the right time as I played in the National Basketball Championships just after it came. I wish I had had it in time for the Four Nations trials as it has also helped a lot with my rugby!”

Josh had little interest in sport as an able-bodied youngster but at the age of nine he contracted transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder caused by inflammation of the spinal cord, and began to use a wheelchair. His interest in sport grew, as did his success, and he hopes to make even greater progress with his new chair, aiming at making the team for the European Rugby Championships next year.
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Away from sport, Josh has just begun an apprenticeship as a Broadcast Assistant with BBC Radio Leeds.

A previous winner of the Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards, sponsored by Harrogate-based law firm McCormicks Solicitors, has been given a grant by the Foundation that organises the Awards to help him further his own work with young people across the region and beyond.

Jono Lancaster of Normanton, who won the Unsung Hero Award in 2011, works with young people with a whole range of issues, talking to them about his own achievements and how he has overcome a rare congenital disorder to build a successful and fulfilling life and career.

Jono was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, which leads to skull and facial deformities and hearing problems, and was put up for adoption just 36 hours after his birth.

His condition means that he has no cheekbones so his eyes droop and he has a bone-anchored hearing aid. He was bullied at school and taunted in public and rejected for a second time by his biological parents when he managed to track them down.

As well as helping to run a care home for people with autism, Jono now travels the world to share his experiences with other young people with Treacher Collins Syndrome and their families and with those facing other challenging issues.

The grant from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation will help him to continue his work with young people in Yorkshire. Forthcoming events include joining young offenders in Hull at an orienteering event and speaking to students at the University of Sheffield.

Jono said: “Although my mum is amazing, I didn’t feel that I could talk to her about my own problems when I was growing up as I didn’t want to upset her. I find that many of the youngsters I talk to also feel isolated and they are very pleased to have an opportunity to talk to someone.”

The Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation supports young people and projects benefiting them across Yorkshire. The Foundation was established in 2010 and one of its main purposes is to give grants from the proceeds of the annual Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards. The Awards marked their 21st anniversary last year. To celebrate this, the Foundation aims to make 21 grants in 2013/14.

A village school near Leeds has moved a step closer to a new learning centre, thanks to a grant from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.

The Friends of Barwick School (FOBS) are fundraising to refurbish part of Barwick-in-Elmet C of E Primary School to create a new library and better IT facilities.

At present the library is in limited space in a corridor next to the existing IT lab which provides poor flexibility for use. Near to these is a resource room used for small groups.

FOBS plans to combine the three spaces to create an “agile” learning space, featuring an improved and updated library, more modern and flexible IT facilities and an area which can be used for both large and small groups of pupils.

The space will be available to other children in the parish, such as Beavers, Rainbows, Brownies and Cubs and Art for Barwick Children who use the school.

The project is expected to cost more than £32,000 and FOBS has already raised more than £6,000 through activities including a summer fair, Garforth Golf Club Gala and a Christmas Fair.

FOBS member Helen Barnard said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Foundation. This grant puts us well on the way to being able to transform the centre of the school and give the children new opportunities for learning.”

Foundation Trustee Ron Miller said: “Village schools can struggle to access funding for projects such as this which will make a huge difference to the school and we are delighted to be able to help.”

​Youngsters with special needs in Leeds have benefited from a new soft play area, thanks to the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.

The play area, at John Jamieson School in Hollin Hill Drive, Oakwood, provides both leisure and learning opportunities for the school’s 200 pupils, all of whom have special educational needs, as well as for other local groups.

The school raised more than a third of the cost of the play area, with the Foundation meeting the remainder.

Pam Barrett, a member of the leadership team at John Jamieson School, said: “Our children have wide ranging special needs, including physical and medical difficulties and we also have pupils on the autistic spectrum. Sometimes parents and carers struggle to find activities for their children in safe settings and the soft play area is ideal for offering a variety of ways to increase physical activity and improve fitness at the same time.

“The new facility is fantastic and we are also able to use it for after-school groups.”

The grant was presented by Foundation Trustee, Ash Barnard. She said: “The soft play area is very popular with the children for both play and therapy. Children can have a one-to-one with carers and, when I visited, the carers were encouraging them to interact through play.”