A 13-year-old Kirkby Lonsdale student, Gabriel Clark, who raised more than £250,000 by crafting wooden bowls for auction, just snagged a prestigious GoCardless JustGiving Award.
By dedicating his talent to charity, Gabriel has managed to raise an impressive £278,000 through his initiative, most significantly to support the international charity, Save the Children, and their work aiding children globally.
Remarkably, Gabriel’s initial fundraising effort last year drummed up a phenomenal £254,678 for the charity's Ukraine Appeal.
Such success spurred on the young fundraiser to carve yet another 'hope bowl,' this time to benefit children worldwide.
On September 25, Children’s Presenter and Actress, Tillie Amartey, presented Gabriel with the Teen Fundraiser of the Year award at London's Roundhouse.
Gabriel said: “Wow. It’s such a great honour to win this award, especially when you hear all the amazing stories of all the other finalists. I want to say a massive thank you to the thousands of people from all over the world who supported me and donated - so many people were so incredibly generous.
"I also want to thank Save the Children who do such amazing work helping children in countries all over the world, including here in the UK. “Sometimes the future looks pretty bleak so it's really great to be here at the GoCardless JustGiving Awards and see so many people, children and adults, who are really trying to make a difference.”
Television celebrity, Jamie Laing, along with radio presenter, Matt Edmondson hosted the eleventh annual awards which saw other inspiring individuals and JustGiving’s Charity of the Year presented.
Amongst the notable guests attending the award ceremony were Bill Bailey, Zoe Hardman, Ellie Simmonds, Rickie Haywood-Williams, Angela Griffin, Dean McCullough, Neil Jones, Aimee Fuller and Faye Winter.
Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager at JustGiving said: “Congratulations to Gabriel on winning Teen Fundraiser of the Year. The kindness that he has shown at such a young age to help so many children less fortunate than him is so inspiring and honestly, cannot be applauded enough.
“Celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of Gabriel and some of our other fundraisers and charities at the GoCardless JustGiving Award Ceremony was amazing - they should all be so proud of what they’ve achieved and the impact that they’ve all had.”
Pat Phelan, MD of UK & Ireland and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless added: "I was blown away by the work Gabriel has done to support Save the Children’s Ukraine Appeal. It was an absolute privilege to recognise his achievement at the GoCardless JustGiving Awards Ceremony and I hope it inspires others to start or continue their fundraising journey."
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