THE community spirit of a Thurrock teenager has been further recognised by the award of a prize from the Jack Petchey Foundation.

As reported on Thurrock Nub news earlier this month the efforts of Josh Bateman from Chafford Hundred have resulted in the production of hundreds of items of essential personal protective equipment for key workers.

The Jack Petchey Foundation has just launched Jack Petchey's Community Awards an award scheme to recognise young people from London and Essex who are helping their community during the coronavirus outbreak.

Members of the public are invited to nominate a young person they know via the Foundation's website. Winners will be awarded £50 in recognition of their community spirit.

The tenth winner is Joshua.

Joshua is currently on furlough from his apprenticeship as a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer and has decided to fill his time 3D-printing face shields for the NHS and healthcare workers in his area.

So far, Joshua has distributed over 700 face shields to hospitals, GP surgeries, care homes and other healthcare establishments around the Thurrock area.

To keep printing, Joshua set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for materials. So far he has raised over £5,200 from this page and plans to donate any leftover funds to local NHS charities.

"We are so proud"

Vicky Bateman, Joshua's mother and nominator, told the Foundation: "We are so very proud of him using this time to really make a difference to help all these wonderful people feel a little safer."

Trudy Kilcullen MBE, CEO of the Jack Petchey Foundation said: "At the Jack Petchey Foundation, young people inspire us all the time with the incredible work they do and that has not stopped in the current situation. We want to recognise more young people across London and Essex doing inspirational things to help their community and hope these Community Awards will motivate others and truly showcase the positive things young people do every day."

Members of the public wishing to nominate a young person can click here and fill out the form to submit their nomination including contact details and reason for nominating.

These nominations will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The Foundation wants to highlight as many of the entries as it can, and will choose multiple winners each week to receive £50 prize for themselves or their favourite charity.

A young person can be nominated for any actions they are doing to help vulnerable family members, the local area, school or youth group during the covid-19 situation as long as these abide by the government guidelines of social distancing.

These could include: delivering groceries to a vulnerable neighbour, creating content to inspire others (e.g. artwork, videos and blog posts), helping a youth group to adapt their work online, contacting local isolated people on the phone, and supporting a parent/friend keyworker.

Campaigns and Competition

The Jack Petchey Foundation has worked with schools and youth groups across Thurrock since 2008 providing £1,406,735 in funding to schools and youth clubs.

The Foundation is running several campaigns and competitions during this time for young people to get directly involved with:

• #TheGoodInWhereILive – a photography competition where young people are encouraged to take a photo of something they like about their area such as a park, a street, a sign, (whilst observing government guidelines), post it on social media with the hashtag and use the form on our website to enter the competition. The winning entry will be awarded £250!

• #21DaysofGratitude – a social media movement where the Foundation wants young people and youth organisations to post for 21 days about one thing a day they are grateful for and challenge others to do the same. The campaign aims to spread positivity throughout youth networks and young people are in with the chance to win a £20 Amazon voucher by taking part and using the hashtag #21daysofgratitude and tagging @jackpetcheyfoundation.

• #Challenge21 – Simple exercises for your body and mind during this time.

• #InspiringMyGeneration – The Foundation is encouraging young people to connect with older generations by sharing what inspires them about an older person they know – this could be a neighbour, a family member, a friend, a teacher… anyone! Share these with us via our social channels.