Carrickfergus girl Madison Wright wins Rotary Young Citizen Award in recognition of support for Northern Ireland Children's Hospice

Madison (16) received the accolade after being nominated by the Rotary Club of Carrickfergus for her outstanding support of the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.

The Carrickfergus Academy pupil has raised over £100,000 for the charity, for which she is a Youth Ambassador, over the last six years.

Madison first began her fundraising efforts in 2018 after hearing about Carrickfergus siblings Noah and Gracie Coates, who both suffered from a rare form of leukodystrophy. “I had learnt of Noah and Gracie one year prior; my parents attended a gala ball to help raise money for the siblings who at the time needed an extension on their house,” Madison said.

"I helped with this by holding a coffee morning; [and] got to know Noah and Gracie who both attended the coffee morning. As I spent time with them, I developed a bond and good friendship with them both. During this time I was able to see how the Children's Hospice helped not only Noah and Gracie, but their close family too. I spent some time with Noah and Gracie when they attended Horizon House for respite care. Seeing how the Children's Hospice cared for Noah and Gracie inspired me to continue my fundraising, but this time in aid of the charity."

Over the past six years, Madison has organised a range of events to raise money for the charity, from coffee mornings and non-uniform days at local schools to supermarket bag packs, a 5K walk, and even sponsored leg and chest waxing.

Most recently, a series of gala ball events in Titanic Belfast raised over £60,000 in memory of Noah, who sadly passed away in 2019.

Meanwhile, when the onset of Covid curtailed in-person fundraising, Madison also encouraged young children to save their 20ps in a Smartie tube, raising over £1,000.

Madison first attended the Rotary Club of Carrickfergus several years ago when she was invited to speak at a meeting, during which members handed over a cheque to the charity from the annual Christmas Tree of Hope event. “I was invited back again this year to receive the cheque from last year's event,” she said. "The Rotary Club of Carrickfergus have been supporting the Children's Hospice and Action Cancer with this event for a number of years.”

The local teen added that she was surprised, but thankful for the nomination from Carrickfergus Rotary, as well as for the organisation’s support of the Children’s Hospice: “I am humbled to have been selected as one of the winners of the Rotary Young Citizen's Award; it is another opportunity for me to highlight the importance of the Children's Hospice here in Northern Ireland and the care that they provide to the families who need it.”

The Rotary Young Citizen Awards recognise young people under the age of 25 who have demonstrated positive citizenship, personal achievements, assumed important responsibilities, undertaken community activities or otherwise stood out as exceptional.

The awards ceremony is due to take place in Warwickshire on Saturday, April 20.

Commenting on Madison’s success, the Rotary Club of Carrickfergus said: “Madison has made exceptional fund raising efforts on behalf of the NI Children's Hospice and is thoroughly deserving of this prestigious award.”